My Days are Done
by anthropopopometry
Summary: "Be serious, for once in your life." "I'm always Sirius in my life." "How many times have you used that one?" "It's the gift that keeps on giving, honestly." For Sirius Black and Louisa Bright, falling in love in their last year of Hogwarts was unimaginable. But so too was facing the prospect of a Wizarding World under dire threat, and the lives of their friends along with it.
1. Bright and Black

_My Days are Done_ is a Marauder Era story following Sirius Black and an original character, Louisa Bright, from the beginning of their final year at Hogwarts to the days surrounding the deaths of Lily and James Potter in 1981.

It's an idea I've always kept at the back of my mind, however I've now decided to plot it and give it a whirl!

Please enjoy, feedback always appreciated.

…...

"I can't believe it…"

"What – your ignorance or the existence of it?"

"…both?"

Louisa Bright, chin resting on hand, peered at her friend across the vast expanse of silverware, crockery and candles adorning the Hufflepuff table.

"Honestly, Val, I can't believe you weren't at all curious."

A boy plonked himself next to the girls, chiming in with genuine concern. "What did she forget this year? If it's the broomstick, that just about completes the team set."

"Bugger off, Will." Valeria shrugged both friends off, turning her attention to a pitcher of spiced elderberry wine.

Louisa turned to Will. "Val figured the carriages pulled themselves all these years."

She turned back to Valeria, holding out her cup to be filled with wine. Her friend rolled her eyes before sloshing it all over her arm. Louisa recoiled, spilling more liquid onto her newly cleaned school robes. Valeria struggled to set the pitcher back on the table, shaking with laughter, while Will watched on with a warm grin. Louisa pulled her wand from her pocket, carefully siphoning the stain from her robe material.

Suddenly, Valeria gave an enthusiastic wave towards the other end of the table where a group of her Quidditch teammates were gathered.

"Back in a minute!" she remarked, and was off, leaving a trail of dust for them to swallow.

Will reached for the wine tentatively, pouring away from Louisa, into his own cup. "It's probably a good thing," he mused, "not realising the existence of Thestrals…"

Louisa placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean-"

"-no, I know you didn't." Will gave a full-hearted smile and took a sip of his wine. "Really, I was just pondering the concept."

A burst of obnoxious laughter drew their attention next door to the Gryffindor table where four notorious boys held an audience of adoring students with their ceaseless, albeit enduring, charisma.

James Potter recounted a lengthy but evidently entertaining story; shoulders squared, perched on the edge of his seat, his arms animated but controlled. Louisa imagined him to be the unspoken leader of the friendship group. Every so often he would push his slightly crooked round spectacles back up his nose and shove his crumpled shirtsleeves back to his elbows.

Across from James sat Remus Lupin. Exceptionally tall and lanky, this was a boy with the build to stand out, but with the posture that suggested he wanted anything but. His short, sandy brown hair often hung across his face, giving him a poor disguise for the several scars that ran along his cheeks and forehead. He was enjoying James' retelling, rather than participating.

Next to Remus, short and pudgy Peter Pettigrew, a scruffy, meek boy with a face caught somewhere between cute and abrasive. He seemed to watch everyone else, rather than James, being more preoccupied with how people were reacting and if his laughter timed with theirs.

The gang was completed by a certain infamous individual who accomplished as many exploits alone as he did with his best friends. Sirius Black was undeniably handsome: his long, black hair and startling grey eyes shaped a refined, though haughty physicality, which left him incessantly popular with the female student population. He sat beside James, resting an arm on his shoulder, swigging from a cup. When the group laughed, he did so too, though not as generously so as to reserve a little of the memory privately for himself. He perpetuated a certain coolness that not even Peter could mimic, no matter how desperately he tried.

"Apparently he made Head Boy," Will murmured, "though I'm not surprised."

"Sirius Black?"

"No, James Potter."

"Oh," Louisa pondered. "Who's Head Girl?"

"Lily Evans."

Louisa let out a sympathetic laugh, turning back around to face the table. "Well, that's a tad awkward. She despises him."

Will turned back with her. "How do you know?"

"I was her potions partner all through last year," she explained. "He's been deliriously crushing on her for years. She's sure it's all a huge joke that will end when we graduate."

"Maybe he's genuine?"

Shrugging, Louisa moved her attention to picking at a puddle of candle wax on the table. "I don't know. It isn't really any of my business."

Will considered this for a moment.

"More interestingly," Louisa digressed, "is that once again, two Gryffindor students get the top honour of the student body."

"I suppose they _are_ known to be a bunch of natural born leaders…"

Louisa, again resting her head in her hand, faced her friend. "I honestly don't believe that we all solely belong in the one house. I feel as though we begin to emanate the qualities valued by the house once we're sorted. Call it like-mindedness."

Will gave her a gentle nudge. "You aren't normally the jealous type."

"I'm not," she insisted, nudging him back. "But sometimes I think we rely too heavily on preconceived stereotypes to define each other. And ourselves."

At that moment, their attention was drawn to a curious individual opposite them. Regulus Black, one of the remaining few to find a seat, almost glided the length of the Slytherin table in search of an empty place. As he passed, he threw an intensely unfriendly scowl at Will who looked away instantly. He continued towards the other end. Like his brother, he was very popular amongst his house, and while he maintained the same haughty physicality, was not nearly as generously handsome or approachable.

Louisa placed a firm hand on Will's. "Perhaps I'll take back what I said."

Will smiled appreciatively. "It's my last year, Lou. He'll leave me alone eventually."

Valeria returned a moment later, blocking their view of the Slytherin boy.

The delicate ringing of silver against glass rang throughout the Great Hall. At the front, Professor McGonagall stood with a glass and spoon in hand, commanding the attention of the students. Standing front and centre at an intricately moulded podium was Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. If possible, his beard had only grown longer since Louisa had last laid eyes on him.

As he began to speak, Louisa understood that this was a year of finalities. This would be the last sorting ceremony she would witness, the last welcoming feast she would consume and the last time she would be welcomed and protected inside these most ancient walls. As she scanned the hall, she noticed that many other seventh years had been struck by the same revelation.

"In a moment we will begin the sorting ceremony," Dumbledore proclaimed, "but first, a few start of term notices and ponderings. Firstly, I offer congratulations to our new Head Boy and Head Girl, James Potter and Lily Evans, whose duties, they may find, will be more challenging and bonding than they have experienced yet."

The hall echoed with applause, an especially large one from the Gryffindor table where friends jostled an ecstatic James Potter and less enthused, though proud Lily Evans.

"Secondly, students are restricted from venturing into the Forbidden Forest. For the first time in many years, the forest will indeed live up to its ominous namesake." Dumbledore let out a small chuckle, much to the confusion of the students before him.

"And thirdly, I suspect many of you are curious, if not concerned, about a certain public figure who calls himself Lord Voldemort."

The hall fell into a dead silence. Louisa shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"It is my wish that none of you spend sleepless nights worrying over what may be or could eventuate. Instead, dream of the potential within yourselves and the wonder you all can give to the world outside of these walls. Do not let one man's actions stop you from dreaming, but more importantly, living…"

Dumbledore took a moment to peer at the utterly confused and unsettled faces of the students before him. With a quick posture shift and thrust of energy, he announced, "…let the sorting begin!"

…

"Sometimes I wonder about the sanity of old mate Dumbledore," Valeria confessed, tossing her tenth pair of striped Hufflepuff socks into her chest of drawers. "I don't think I have ever fully understood his welcoming address in my seven years of schooling."

Shoving her trunk under her bed, Louisa replied, "I think his intention tonight was perfectly clear." She brushed off her knees and flopped onto her mattress. "He wanted to inspire us all into action, because this wizard is clearly dangerous, but not say it so explicitly."

"We aren't an army," Valeria exclaimed, "we're school students. This is why we have a Ministry of Magic."

She perched herself at the end of Louisa's bed, stretching.

"I agree," Louisa concurred, "which makes me wonder why he said it."

"Haven't you been reading about Harold Minchum in the Daily Prophet? He's been promising to sort…sort him out for years."

Louisa, noticing the hitch in Valeria's breath at attempting to say the name, moved on quickly with the conversation.

"He's a politician, Val, he's full of hot air and nothing else."

"Politician?"

"It's a Muggle term," Louisa explained.

Valeria rolled away from Louisa's bed and continued to unpack. "You know so much about the muggle world for someone from an entirely wizarding family."

"It's been my favourite subject for as long as I can recall. Their history and social culture parallels ours in every way and has done so for as long as we have coexisted. It seems foolish not to study them."

Valeria laughed, tossing a sock bundle at her friend. "Let me know when you're finished on your soap box."

….

Louisa greeted the first day of classes with open arms. Herbology she may not have been exceedingly passionate about, but thoroughly enjoyed the hands on work and the earthy solitude that came with the assignments. And so she trudged her way down to the greenhouses with a quicker, more motivated step.

When she arrived, she was immediately thrown by the presence of two entirely unexpected classmates. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were seated at a set of desks towards the back of the classroom, laughing about something with some of the other students.

The pair had not been in the class the previous year, and Louisa found it odd that they should have a change of heart so suddenly. She could not recall, in the seven years she had been in class with Sirius, him ever taking the concept of Herbology particularly seriously.

"Good to have you back, Ms Bright."

Professor Sprout appeared in the doorway. She brushed past Louisa with a warm smile and began setting up for the class.

"Alright, find your seats." She commanded the students.

Louisa settled herself at the front of the class and began unloading her equipment.

"I have an unusual assignment for you today," Professor Sprout began. With a swish of her wand, a stack of textbooks lifted and floated towards the students, separating and landing on each of their desks.

"Wand woods. There is much study being done at the moment as to whether the region from whence the tree came impacts the nature of the magic performed by the wand. My task for you today is to study your wands using the textbooks I have given you and the regional plant samples I have set up around the classroom to ascertain three things: the wand wood, the region and the nature of the magic it may produce."

The professor paused momentarily to ensure her students were following her. "In saying this, you all should know your own wand woods. So, you will be swapping wands alphabetically." She pointed to the back of the classroom. "Ms Avery will swap with Ms Bagley."

The Professor then turned to Louisa. "Ms Bright, you will swap with Mr Black."

Her stomach lurched a little. She felt that Sirius Black was more likely to hide her wand and never return it than fulfil the assignment.

When Professor Sprout had finished sorting her students, she allowed them to move about the classroom and commence their work. Louisa slid off her chair and reluctantly turned to the back. Sirius remained seated, flirting with a classmate from Ravenclaw. Louisa groaned internally, approaching the pair with a look of poorly masked disdain across her face. She cleared her throat pre-emptively.

Sirius turned to her with a curious look, fishing his wand out of his pocket. He held it out towards her, and with a completely straight face, said, "Mine's 11 inches. Well above average."

The innuendo was entirely apparent to Louisa. Returning his unemotional delivery, she folded her arms and stared at the wand momentarily before replying, "Really? Definitely doesn't look it."

Sirius grinned, standing upright. He stood about two inches taller than her. "You won't be disappointed."

Louisa rolled her eyes, pulling her own wand from her pocket. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

As they traded, she felt a small but very important part of her disappear into the hands of someone she trusted very little. Sirius seemed unaffected, twirling her wand between his fingers.

"Should we take a short cut?" He suggested, pointing to his own wand. "Mine's Ebony."

Louisa sighed. "Pear."

"Interesting," he mused, passing it between his hands. "See you in a bit." And with that, he wandered away, clearly up to no good, with no intention of completing the assignment. This did not bother Louisa as much as it would have had she told him her actual wand wood. Her wand was made of Beech, in fact, and not Pear.

For the remainder of the allotted time, Sirius spent it flirting with the same student whom Louisa had interrupted before. Louisa, on the other hand, managed to ascertain a number of interesting qualities about Ebony wands and their regional magical qualities. When it came time to present her findings, Louisa happily stood before the class with Sirius' wand in hand.

"Sirius' wand is made of Ebony wood," she began, rolling it between her fingers as he had done with hers. "With the plant samples present, I was unable to ascertain a particular regional set of magical qualities as I discovered Ebony, in fact, comes from just about every region in the world. This led to me believe that the wand is capable of producing an incredibly broad range of magic, and may be able to endure particular hardship or adapt to extreme situations given it's presence around the world."

She paused momentarily, watching a very self-satisfied Sirius sit back in his chair.

"However," she continued. "This study has also led me to believe that the magic lacks direction or a speciality, prone to less powerful spell casting. Anyone aiming for _above average_ spell casting would find themselves very disappointed."

With a pointed stare at Sirius, she sat down.

Sirius stood from his chair, barely concealing his laughter. He was impressed.

"I initially understood this wand to be of Pear," he admitted. "But after a second glance, I realised it was Beech…"

Louisa turned away from Sirius to face the front. Her face flushed a deep red. She listened as he divulged his knowledge on her wand, and needless to say, she was entirely taken aback. He had spent the entire class in blatant disregard of the assignment. How was it that he could know her wand with a moment's speculation?

At the end of class, the students moved about freely, exchanging wands once more. Louisa approached Sirius, not at all concealing her frustrated expression.

"Quiet, but dangerous," Sirius noted, handing her wand to her. "I'll have to watch my back around you."

"The proof is in the work, Sirius, not the result," she stated, pocketing her wand.

"My uncle Alphard owns a Beech wand," he explained. "And in my-"

"-well, thank you for that unwarranted explanation," she quipped, cutting him off. Without a second glance, she turned and exited the greenhouse, swiping her belongings in a swift, hurried movement.

As she hiked to her next class back in the castle, Louisa reflected upon how necessary her brashness had been in that moment just before. If anything, her pride had been bruised. But she imagined Sirius would brush off their interaction like a piece of lint on a jumper – entirely inconsequential.

As the week progressed, Louisa learned very unexpectedly that he too was taking the same Muggle Studies class as her, as well as sharing several free periods. Her favourite class became a nightmare, and her study periods were now spent hiding amongst the bookshelves and away from the ruckus of the study tables where would often mess around, teasing and flirting.

It wasn't that Louisa had never spent a class with Sirius. In truth, she had sat through many subjects with him in their earlier years. But a lull in contact followed by sudden and intense exposure to the Gryffindor had her fighting to maintain a sense of dignity. Louisa was an expert at keeping to herself and staying well away from other people's business. But by letting her guard down, she had let Sirius become her daily business. In all honesty, they only interacted once or twice a day, but so petty was the banter between them that Louisa was sure she could feel her maturity flaking away around her.

…..

"He's like a naughty dog," Valeria surmised at breakfast one morning, "he messes around because he wants the reaction."

"I know he does," Louisa sighed. "Most of the time I'm an expert at blocking out his rubbish, but sometimes…"She trailed off, playing with the eggs on her plate. "Anyway, ready for trials?"

"Mhm," Valeria nodded with a mouthful of sausage. "Really hoping for a couple of strong chasers this year. We've been a bit lacking for a while."

"How's your arm?"

Valeria gave it a little stretch. "Eh, it's not too bad. I've recovered relatively quickly considering that bludger snapped it in half. As long as I angle my swings right, I shouldn't have too much trouble beating them back."

As Louisa reached for another helping of eggs a passing student bumped her. Severus Snape, as slimy as the eggs that splattered back into the serving dish, shoved past Louisa carrying a full goblet of juice. Without any acknowledgement, he continued onwards to the end of the hall.

"Remind me how I was defending Hogwarts House stereotypes?" Louisa grumbled, reclaiming her eggs.

"Oh, he's coming back." Valeria noted, watching as he made a sharp turn, recoiling from a group of certain Gryffindors who had noticed him.

"Where are you off to, Snivellus?" Sirius shouted, giving a lazy wave.

As Snape passed Louisa again, goblet wobbling precariously against his pace, Sirius threw a spell in his direction, sending his robes flying up and around his face. He stumbled, goblet barrelling from his hand and its contents spilling all over Louisa. She jumped from her seat, knocking the table and the drinks of those next to her. Snape readjusted himself, hurrying away, muttering under his breath.

"Are you alright?" Valeria asked, trying to clean her friend with a napkin.

Louisa glanced over to the Gryffindor table where Sirius had long since turned back to his friends, unaware of the consequences of his mischievous actions.

Hair dripping, she looked at Valeria with a blinded rage. "I'll give him a reaction."

"Lou?"

Louisa stepped away from the table and directed her glare to Sirius. She marched towards him with a ferocity she had not until this moment experienced in her entire life.

As she approached the group, Sirius noted her appearance. "What happened to-?"

Louisa's fist connected with his face. He staggered back in his seat, falling into James. The hall fell silent.

For the first time in his life, the imperturbable expression Sirius wore had been wiped clean from his face.


	2. Stuck in the Mud

"Utterly unacceptable," Professor McGonagall scolded, standing squarely in front of her desk. "Really, two seventh years brawling at breakfast? The immaturity astounds me. You will both be attending detention. Today."

"Brawling?" Louisa interjected.

"Professor, I'd hardly call it a punch." Sirius mocked.

Louisa rolled her eyes at the Gryffindor, who while categorically denied the impact of her fist, flinched every time he moved his mouth.

"I don't care what you call it," Professor McGonagall stated. "Hexing and punching students is prohibited. You will both suffer the consequences of these actions."

Though her voice was not raised, and she stood shorter than both Louisa and Sirius, so deadly was her tone that the two students felt themselves shrinking against her.

Professor McGonagall turned to another presence in the room, seeking confirmation.

"Yes, yes detention, you're quite right Minerva," Professor Sprout mimicked. She was not nearly as outraged as her colleague. So long had it been since a Hufflepuff had committed such an act under her guidance that she was entirely out of practice at handling the situation. She cleared her throat and frowned at the pair. Louisa hid her amusement poorly, which Sirius noticed, in turn causing him to conceal a small smile.

Professor McGonagall's eyes snapped to her office doorway, where Valeria, James, Remus and Peter could be seen peeking through. She swung her wand in a quick, precise motion; the door slammed shut.

"My nose!" Peter groaned on the other side of the doorway.

Sirius let out a quick laugh, silencing himself as Professor McGonagall set her sharp eyes on him.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "Fifteen points each will be deducted from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. You are both to write a five thousand-word essay reflecting on your behaviour, with reference to the school decorum guidelines. You will submit them to us for strict grading."

It was impossible to tell whose faces were more horrified – Louisa and Sirius' at the thought of producing something that tedious, or Professor Sprout's at the thought of having to grade something so long.

"No, no I insist on this one, Minerva." She hurried behind the students, placing a firm hand on both of their shoulders. "I have a set of peculiar plants I need collecting from the forest this afternoon. It will be an entirely laborious pursuit, very tedious indeed."

Louisa and Sirius nodded along profusely.

"Very well," Professor McGonagall sighed, resigning her case.

"Right, come along you two," Professor Sprout insisted, pulling them back to the doorway.

As all three exited, they found Valeria, James, Remus and Peter hanging around the corridor awkwardly. Peter's nose was tinted bright red.

"You two meet me down at the greenhouses at four o'clock," Professor Sprout instructed. "No need to bring anything."

She gave a dismissive wave before hurrying away, late to teach her first class of the morning.

James threw an arm around Sirius' shoulder, pulling him close. "I think she broke the skin, Padfoot," he teased.

"Bloody well broke my heart," he assured mockingly as he ruffled his best friend's hair. "What was it for anyway?"

Louisa stared at him blankly. Had he not noticed her juice stained uniform or sticky hair? She looked to Valeria whose head fell into her hands in disbelief.

"You owe her an apology, Padfoot," Remus commented. He was leaning against the wall of the corridor, arms folded. His tone was casual, but matter-of-fact.

Louisa waved them all off, grabbing Valeria's arm. "Just forget it."

"But, Lou, the juice…" Valeria muttered to her friend as she was dragged away.

"It isn't about the juice." Louisa grumbled melodramatically.

"What juice?" Sirius called to them, as they got further away.

"Forget the bloody juice!" Louisa barked back.

Sirius turned to Remus, shrugging.

Remus chuckled. "You're a messer, mate."

…

"I'll catch up with you." Louisa called to Valeria as she entered the girls' bathrooms.

Her school shoes echoed loudly on the old marble floors as she hurried over to a sink. She turned on the taps, waiting for the water to become warm.

In the mirror, she observed her dishevelled appearance: her face was flushed from the embarrassment of the morning; pieces of orange pulp attempted to disguise themselves amongst the freckles across her nose; her chestnut hair sat in heavy, tousled strands on her shoulders where dried juice gave the impression she was wearing a poorly tie dyed shirt.

Using her wand, she briskly guided pockets of water through the strands of her hair, washing out the orange pulp. She then moved to her shirt, which had long since dried. She allowed warm water to settle over the stained spots before extracting it from her shirt material, along with whatever juice was willing to part ways with her.

She washed her hands quickly, acknowledging her maddened expression in the mirror.

"It isn't about the juice."

…

At a quarter to four that afternoon, Louisa arrived at the greenhouses, well and truly early for what would be the first detention she had attended in years. She perched herself atop one of the counters overlooking the vast grounds that extended down to the lake. She marvelled at how lush and colourful Hogwarts looked at this time of the year. Many of the trees had begun to change into their autumn colours, casting an orange glow along the horizon. The clouds overhead rolled along ominously towards the castle, threatening rain.

Moments later the first droplets began hitting the window from which she observed. Students who had been enjoying the mild afternoon weather now sprinted comically back towards the castle, using folders and textbooks as shelter.

The door to the greenhouse swung open. Sirius entered, shaking the water away from himself as a dog might after being scrubbed in a hot bath.

"Looks like detention's off," he declared, running his hands through his dampened hair.

"If you're so sure, why did you come all the way down here?" Louisa questioned, fiddling with the latch on the window.

"To spend quality time with you, my darling."

"Oh please," Louisa retorted, struggling to shove the window open.

"What are you doing?"

"It's sticky in here."

"Don't worry," Sirius mused, wandering over to her. "I have that affect on many people. James more so than most, the cheeky bastard."

As he approached, Louisa jumped away from the bench. Sirius took her spot, bracing against the window with his shoulder.

"You may as well date him then," Louisa pointed out, folding her arms.

"Don't get jealous," he teased.

"Don't get cocky," she responded.

With a mighty shove, the window budged. Fresh air rushed into the greenhouse. Sirius kept his face there a moment, letting the breeze cool his face.

"Can punch a guy in the face but can't crack a window, eh?" he goaded, turning back to face Louisa. The skin around his left eye was relatively swollen, she noticed, and the faint outline of bruising could be seen underneath a tiny cut where she'd broken the skin. She was impressed by her strength but felt guilty for being so volatile.

"Hang on a moment," she said, turning her attention to the shelf behind her.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, jumping down.

Louisa reached for a jar sitting at the back of the shelf. She wrenched open the lid and scraped several soft brown leaves from the bottom.

"Comfrey leaves," she stated, squashing them between her palms. "They'll help to heal your cut. Normally Madam Pomfrey might turn the extract into a tea, or oil, but bruising the leaves has the same effect."

She handed them to Sirius, who held one underneath his eye over his cut.

"My, aren't you the clever one."

"I think I'll die of shock if you're ever genuinely humble about anything in your life," Louisa vowed, packing away the jar.

"Humble?" he laughed, "You haven't apologised for punching me in the face."

"Well," she started, trying to find her words. "Well I don't regret it. Besides, you haven't apologised for…"

"For…?"

"For the juice."

"You said it wasn't about the juice," Sirius exclaimed, barely masking his amusement.

Louisa opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by Professor Sprout bumbling into the greenhouse. She was carrying an armful of equipment and a couple of raincoats.

"Perfect timing," she announced.

"Professor, it's storming out there," Louisa explained, signalling to the window.

"I'm well aware, Ms Bright."

"So detention's off?" Sirius questioned hopefully.

"Off? Oh no, Mr Black, it is most definitely on." She dumped the equipment onto the floor, brushing off her hands. "You can't expect to find Wild Moly when it isn't storming, now can you?"

"Wild Moly?"

"Crafty little flowers," Professor Sprout clarified. "They live underground and they can be a real nuisance to dig up, but when it storms, they wriggle through the soil and pop up all over the ground. The forbidden forest just so happens to be scattered with them."

She pulled a crumpled illustration from her pocket and propped it on the bench.

A curious little flower was illustrated in the center of the page. It had a peculiarly tall, narrow, black stalk that miraculously supported a circular set of white pettles fanning out in every direction.

"Right," Professor Sprout said, tossing the raincoats to her students. "Suit up."

...

Through the rain and wind, two lone figures could be seen struggling in the soggy muck of the forest floor. Though they adorned rain-repelling coats and knee high boots, little could be done to stop the mud that splattered their faces. The Wild Moly flowers were proving formidable against their extraction efforts. Louisa was crouched low to the ground, methodically digging around the flower to wean it from the soil.

Several feet away, Sirius blasted the ground with his wand in an effort to speed up the process.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here," he shouted across to Louisa, "and guess that this would have been how Sprout was going to spend her afternoon?"

"Afraid to get your hands a little dirty," Louisa chided through gritted teeth as she struggled with the Moly.

"Settle down," he teased, shoving his wand into his pocket, "there'll be plenty of time for that later."

Sirius crouched down into the mud, gripping his hands around the stalk of the flower. He pulled with all of his strength, his boots sinking into the soil as he stretched further away. A fruitless exercise, he attempted to stand once more. His boots, however, were firmly planted in the mud. He instantly fell backwards, hitting the mud with a sickeningly loud splatter.

Louisa, back turned the other way, felt a clump of mud hit her leg.

"Honestly, Sirius," she groaned, turning around. She paused, taking in the sight before her. She clasped her knees, laughing uncontrollably, Sirius joining in.

"Mud bath," he explained. "Softens the skin."

Louisa trudged over to him. "Finally found your natural habitat?" She extended a hand. He reached up, clasping it. As she moved to pull, he yanked her down. She tumbled into the mud, landing face first beside him.

"If I go down," he said, "then you're coming with me."

Louisa, face-plastered brown, turned to face him. He burst into hysterical laughter. She was caught somewhere between amusement and embarrassment, her fists clenched furiously, ready for round two.

"I bet this one won't be about the mud, right?" He mentioned, noticing her fists.

Louisa sighed, rolling onto her back. The pair stayed there for some time, letting the rain wash the mud from their faces.

"Beech," Sirius nodded to a particularly broad tree above them. "There used to be one in my yard growing up. I would hide in it from my ludicrous family as a kid."

Louisa placed a hand on her wand, avoiding eye contact with the boy next to her.

"That's how I knew your wand."

She made a vague noise of recognition, not quite ready to admit that she had learned something about Sirius that did not send her body into a spasmodic rage.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" He asked, squinting through the rain.

Louisa rolled her eyes. "Stop fishing."

"I'm not," he replied, matter-of-factly.

"I think you're careless, and despite your air of indifference, almost everything you do is for attention," she reasoned, wiping mud from her nose. "And you lack discipline. Your mum must have let you run rampant as a kid."

He laughed to himself, eyes not moving from the beech tree above.

"I'm certainly not perfect, don't get me wrong," she added quickly.

"Yeah, you're surprisingly abrupt," he commented, sitting up. "And volatile."

Louisa sat up also, grinning sheepishly. Something caught in front of them caught her eye.

"Look," she said, pointing to the ground. The Wild Moly flower Sirius had been trying to yank from the ground was lying in the soil, roots separated from the earth.

…

"One Moly?" Professor Sprout choked, dropping her plant clippers. "Look at the state you're in!"

Standing before her, Louisa and Sirius held out the one flower they had managed to recover from the forest. Both were absolutely filthy and exhausted. Slowly, Sirius lowered the flower onto the Professor's desk. He gave her wink before backing out of the green house. Louisa gave an apologetic look before following suit.

Outside, the pair lumbered back towards the castle. In the darkness, The Great Hall seemed like a boat floating through nothing in the open sea. As they entered the castle, Sirius turned off towards the dormitories.

"I need a bath," he proclaimed, stretching his arms above his head.

"Aren't you going to dinner?" Louisa asked, looking to the distant floating candles of the Great Hall.

"I'll just sneak into the kitchens later," he replied, giving a lazy wave.

Louisa rolled her eyes. She looked at herself in the reflection of one the windows. She was quite a sight to behold, with her grimy face and matted hair. Perhaps a bath was a better idea, she thought, bypassing the hall.

As she moved past the doorway, Regulus Black cut her off. He observed her curiously, looking her up and down. He stood slightly shorter than her, puffing his chest out and holding his chin high.

"Can I help you?" She questioned, noting his proximity.

He smirked. "You already have," he said. "I didn't realise the animosity you felt towards my brother. I'm impressed, even if you are a Hufflepuff."

"Charming," she said sarcastically, moving around him. "I assure you I had no intention of impressing anyone."

"Nevertheless," he affirmed, extending his hand towards her.

She stared at his hand. He held it there between them expectantly.

"You aren't serious," she stated, stepping back from him.

He withdrew his offer of a handshake, standing defiantly before her. "Well, just goes to show the kind of pedigree they're still allowing into Hogwarts. Purebloods like you taint our reputation."

Louisa was stunned and disgusted.

Behind Regulus, James and Remus exited the Great Hall. Their light-hearted conversation ceased awkwardly as they noticed the confrontation.

Regulus, barely turning his neck to acknowledge them, brushed past Louisa, knocking shoulders. "You won't be a problem much longer," he muttered. "None of you will be."

Louisa, James and Remus watched as he rounded a corner, his sharp footsteps echoing along the stone. In the flickering candlelight, she scrutinised as his shadow grew smaller and smaller against the wall. A faint, lingering chill crept up her spine that she could not shake for the rest of the evening.


	3. The Serpent in the Sky

To say the Hogwarts Owlery was simply 'out of the way' was something of a gross understatement. After navigating the sporadic labyrinth of changing staircases required to make it out of the castle, it was a decent fifteen-minute uphill hike to the tower before one had to conquer the most ghastly spiral staircase ever conceived.

It was on that crisp, sunny morning that Louisa, dragging Will along for the journey, found herself entirely out of breath halfway up the staircase

"I heard someone died making this climb," Will uttered through heavy breaths.

"Liar," Louisa replied over the railing above him. She was a full set of stairs ahead.

"You know why they made the owlery such a challenge to get to? So students hundreds of years ago couldn't be bothered to climb all the way here to write home, complaining about the archaic forms of punishment enforced by the teachers."

Louisa laughed, continuing her climb. Will mustered his courage, hurrying to catch up.

"It's true. They used to hang students by their toes in the dungeons," he insisted.

"You've been listening to Filch muttering to himself again, haven't you?"

Will paused on the staircase once more, hands braced on knees. "Mail on Wednesdays, that's the best thing they ever introduced at Hogwarts." He peered upwards over the railing to make sure his friend was listening. "So students don't have to make this journey to check their mail."

Louisa grinned, giving a great big stretch as she reached the landing. She waited for Will to catch up, looking out at the spectacular view of the grounds. Just over the hill on the horizon she could see the quidditch pitch. The set up for the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin game was well under way.

Will reached the landing, grabbing her shoulder for support. He followed her eye line to the pitch. "We ought to hurry over or all of the good seats for the game will be taken."

"I promise I won't be long," Louisa insisted, wandering into the tower. Inside, hundreds of owls were perched in their cubbyholes, screeching and flapping their wings decidedly at each other. She peered around for a moment, seeking her own. From one of the highest landings, a brilliant, black Barn Owl glided towards Louisa, landing gently on her shoulder.

"Hello beautiful Winnie," she greeted, giving the owl a stroke. "What have you got there for me?"

Clasped in Winnie's mouth were two letters. She released them into Louisa's hand before giving her master an affectionate rub on her cheek. She flew off for a stretch through the window.

"Someone's popular," Will noted.

Louisa examined the letters closely. The first was from her mother and father. She suspected the content was about their recent holiday to Japan, having just returned home to East Langdon in Dover. The second was from her older sister, Edie, who had been unreachable and whereabouts unknown for the past month as she performed mysterious tasks for the Ministry of Magic.

She opened the letter from her parents first, skimming its contents. As she progressed, her eyes grew wider. Will watched curiously. She tucked the letter under her arm and ripped open the second from her sister. She paced slowly as she read, re-reading several paragraphs to clarify the information.

"Is everything ok?" Will queried.

Louisa did not answer immediately. She finished reading her sister's letter and took a deep breath. "Well, Edie quit her job with the Ministry..."

"Wow," Will remarked. "Is it...is it that easy to just stop being an Auror?"

Louisa shrugged, visibly distracted.

"What did your parents say?"

"They were...notably upset," she replied, folding their letter back into it's envelope.

"Good trip though?"

"Mm..." Louisa trailed off, looking at her sister's letter again.

"So what is she going to do now?"

"Join a rebellion."

Will laughed, but Louisa barely broke a smile. His amusement stopped awkwardly. "You're serious?"

Louisa handed the letter to Will. He read through it carefully.

...

 _Dearest Lou,_

 _My sincerest apologies for not being in contact sooner. The Ministry has had me undertaking all sorts of ludicrous missions lately with no relevance to anything important happening in the world right now._

 _I hope your last year at Hogwarts is proving adventurous. Make the most of it; for once you leave those walls you'll find a certain comfort missing in your life you won't find anywhere else! You ought to come and visit me in London before Christmas, that way we can catch up properly and head home together. I suspect there will be little opportunity for us to talk once we are home for what I am about to tell you will certainly drive mum and dad bonkers and I'll spend most of it copping an earful from them._

 _To put it quite simply I've left my Auror position. My boss, and even the Minister himself, has lost sight of the real challenges facing the Wizarding world at present. There are too many dangerously mad fanatics running rampant out there intending to do harm to Wizards and Muggles alike, and instead of addressing those individuals, my department have seen to it that we are all engaged in pointless, tedious tasks that keep us away and distracted. I can imagine your expression at present, Lou, I really can. But I've lost the faith that you cling to so fiercely. I believe the Ministry is in denial of the atrocities being committed and I cannot stand by any longer playing along._

 _There's a group of us coming together, Lou. And while for the moment you may think to brush it off as some ridiculous club, I promise you that it houses a set of impressive Witches and Wizards striving to do some good in the world. We're going to make a difference. We're going to fight._

 _I'm telling you this because I love you, and I know you. You have such faith in the authorities of our world. Hold fast to the friends you care for and find people you can trust. Something is swelling; I feel things out here are going to become much worse._

 _I hope I haven't left you feeling too morbid. Keep me posted on the Quidditch results. Go Hufflepuff!_

 _Much love,_

 _Edie_

 _..._

Will cleared his throat, handing the letter back to Louisa. "Your sister has a way of making things feel very...heavy."

Louisa folded the letter up and placed it in her pocket. She moved to the doorway, following Will out into the fresh air. They descended the staircase slowly.

"Do you think things are that serious?" She asked, attempting to mask her concern.

Will considered her question. "It's hard to say when you spend most of your year in a Hogwarts bubble," he admitted. "But, I'm inclined to agree with Edie."

Louisa was silent for a moment, and then she erupted. "I can't believe her stupidity," she began, throwing her arms around animatedly, "taking matters into her own hands like that. Who does this group of people think they are? They're rebelling outside the realm of the law. She'll get hurt, pursuing something so foolishly."

"She's an ex-Auror," Will reasoned, "she's tough."

"She wasn't one for that long," Louisa retorted. "What is she going to do for money? She can't rely on mum and dad, that's entirely unfair on them."

Will placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We grow up with such a perfect idea of how the world should be, Lou," he cautioned. "But things seldom work out how we want them to. Your Hogwarts bubble is being burst."

"Well, I don't like it." She admitted, letting out a small laugh.

"And Val won't like it if we're late to the game," he said, looking over at the pitch.

…..

By the time they arrived at the pitch, most of the good seats had been claimed. The first match of the year was always a zealous occasion, with many of the students dripping head to toe in their house colours. The players had just flown onto the field as Louisa and Will climbed their way through the stands, searching for a spot. Both teams were intensely running drills at their respective ends of the pitch. Louisa glimpsed Valeria as she flew low to the ground, stretching her beating arm. Hufflepuff versus Slytherin was always an interesting match to watch; while Slytherin was considered a more aggressive, strategic team, Hufflepuff maintained excellent precision and strong team motivation, making their quaffle possession, while less frequent, more worthwhile.

Louisa clambered to snatch two spots next to a familiar Auburn-haired Gryffindor and frequent potions partner. Lily Evans, with her dazzling emerald green eyes and porcelain-like skin, sat wrapped in a jumper, scarf and beanie with a couple of Hufflepuff themed pom poms in her lap.

"Mind if we join you?" Louisa asked, tapping Lily on the shoulder.

"Hello!' She greeted warmly, patting the bench next to her. "Sit down, we can keep each other warm." She looked behind Louisa to Will and gave a generous wave. "Hi Will, good to see you."

"Morning off from Head Girl duties?" Louisa asked, settling into the bench.

Lily sighed, laughing. "Thank goodness."

"Dumbledore running you into the ground?"

"No, not at all," she assured, adjusting her beanie. "It isn't the duties I need a break from."

Louisa glanced to an approaching group of seventh years, James Potter in the lead. Sirius was close behind, arm over the shoulders of strikingly beautiful Ravenclaw and apparent girlfriend, Allegra Vane.

"Oh boy," Lily said, turning her attention back to the pitch.

"Oi, Evans!" James called out.

"Don't look, it's just a bad dream," Louisa comforted Lily, chuckling.

She could hear as James climbed several rows of students, the complaints following him all the way to their spot.

He poked his head in right between Lily and Louisa.

"Evans, come sit with me?"

"Not on your life, Potter."

"We could go over talking points for our meeting with Dumbledore," he suggested, hand creeping up to her shoulder.

"Talking points?" She scoffed, "I've never seen you prepare anything for our meetings."

"I'd do it for you, my darling," he insisted.

Louisa shifted in her seat upon hearing James refer to Lily as his 'darling'. Not a week before Sirius had referred to her with the same expression. It gave her an uncomfortable sensation, though why it triggered such a quick reaction was beyond her.

"Shove off, Potter," Lily contended, pushing him away.

James conceded, retreating back to his friends. "You don't have the magic touch, mate," Sirius taunted as they seated themselves higher up in the stands.

Louisa rolled her eyes, looking at Lily. She was flushed, a redness creeping along her cheeks. Louisa was curious, but mentioned nothing. She looked back at Sirius and Allegra who were flirting very openly amongst their friends. It annoyed her more than was reasonably justified. She turned back to Lily and Will.

"Have you noticed that Sirius only ever dates people who look exactly like him?" She said with a cheeky grin.

Lily and Will looked back. Allegra indeed sported the same long dark hair and handsome features.

"You're right," Lily agreed, genuinely surprised.

"It's so he can be reminded of the most important person in his life. Himself."

The players on the pitch took their positions, ready to begin the match.

"Since when do you care so much about who Sirius Black is dating?" Will questioned.

Louisa shrugged. "I don't, really. Just a funny observation."

Will smiled to himself, focusing on the match.

Louisa glanced back slyly. Sirius was watching her. Their eye contact was brief but direct. She snapped her head back around, embarrassed that she had been caught looking.

The game was well and truly underway before Louisa could properly focus on it. Valeria was playing excellently, though her recent injury was clearly preventing her from hitting the bludgers as far as usual. She felt especially concerned for her friend's wellbeing given her own recent encounter with Regulus Black who, as captain of the Slytherin team, was crossing paths with Valeria frequently as the game advanced.

"Evans!" Louisa heard James call from several rows back. She glanced at Lily who kept a straight face, her eyes planted on the game.

"Evans!" He called again.

Lily turned around, glaring.

"We're heading to The Three Broomsticks after the game," he announced. "Fancy a butterbeer?"

"Certainly not with you, James Potter." She replied, turning around to continue watching the match.

"What about you, Louisa?" He called out. "As long as you promise not to start any fights!"

Without turning around, Louisa raised her hand into the air, signalling James very clearly with one particular finger.

One of the Hufflepuff players took a magnificent dive, rolling off their broom into the sand below. The crowd jumped to its feet, peering over the edge of the stands. Above, Regulus was spotted closing in on the snitch. The golden ball flung itself sporadically through the air, evading the Slytherin's grasp. It climbed higher and higher into the clouds, Regulus pursuing relentlessly. Eventually, he disappeared; the crowd left squinting at thin air.

"Is that…?" Louisa trailed off. She pointed to the spot where Regulus had disappeared.

Forming in amongst the clouds was the shape of a green serpent slithering through the mouth of a giant, terrifying human skull. It was faint at first, but grew more apparent as the clouds gathered.

Louisa could hear the crowd gasping around her. She looked to the teacher's box. They all stood from their seats, shock and concern written all over their faces. Dumbledore was calmly conferring with Professor McGonagall off to the side.

"They've been appearing all over London," Will whispered. "I read about one in the Daily Prophet last week."

"Is this some kind of practical joke?" Lily asked.

Regulus emerged from the clouds, the snitch firmly in his grasp. He flew down, victorious and apparently unaware. As he re-entered the pitch, he realised that the game had ceased. He looked up, following the eye line of his team to the swelling symbol in the sky.

"I bet he did this," one student called out, pointing to Regulus.

"Everyone knows he's…extreme." Will muttered quietly.

Louisa looked back to Sirius. He was utterly stunned, eyes peeling from the terrifying clouds to his estranged brother.

"It is imperative that all students return to their dormitories at once," Dumbledore boomed, using his wand as an amplifier. "All Hogsmeade visits are postponed until further notice."

Very quickly, and with the mild sensation of panic, the students began to file out of the stands. Madam Hooch appeared on the pitch, escorting the players out through the dressing rooms.

Lily and James immediately stepped up into their leadership roles, directing students towards the exit with all of the authority they could muster. Louisa held tight to Will as they were jostled along.

The walk back to the castle was slow and unsettled. Students were whispering amongst themselves, some terrified, some excited, by what they had just witnessed.

Louisa watched the back of Regulus' head. He was ten or so feet in front of her, walking in amongst his team. She could see the tension in his body; he was entirely aware of the looks he was getting from the other students.

Suddenly, Sirius brushed past Louisa, striding angrily towards Regulus. Remus and Peter followed behind him, trying to pull him away.

"Padfoot," Remus pleaded, "stop, walk away."

Sirius wrenched away, cutting his brother off from walking any further. He had a fistful of his uniform gripped tightly, face livid. Regulus attempted to ignore the intimidation, though did not cower from eye contact. Many students stopped to watch.

Remus placed his arm around Sirius' shoulders, pulling him back.

"You're a fool," Sirius said furiously. "Do you know what you have done?"

Remus pulled him further away, quickly moving ahead of the crowd.

Louisa and Will looked at each other, but said nothing.

….

"I just don't understand what he stood to gain," Valeria huffed, ripping her quidditch gear from her body. "He already had the snitch. What was the cloud trick all about?"

Louisa, legs crossed on the carpet, stared into the crackling fireplace beside Val. The afternoon had turned remarkably sour, with most students distressed by the thought of dark forces penetrating Hogwarts. The Hufflepuff common room was quieter than usual.

"They haven't necessarily proved he did anything," Louisa reminded Val, stretching her legs. "Perhaps it was someone else making it look that way…"

"Did you see the teachers marching off into the grounds?" Will mentioned, sprawled in an armchair, reading over an old copy of the Daily Prophet. "The symbol follows death."

He tossed the newspaper to Louisa and Val who examined it closely.

"The Dark Mark?" Val pondered, massaging her arm.

Louisa was entranced by the image accompanying the article. A young couple's bodies were being shielded from the press on the front lawn of their home. Their faces were haunting. In the sky above them, the same serpent and human skull symbol.

"Why were they killed?" Louisa asked, unable to look away from the photograph.

"The article mentions something about their blood heritage," he replied bitterly.

Louisa shook her head in disbelief.

At that moment, a young student burst forth into the common room, sweaty and out of breath. "They found a dead body in the grounds," he shouted immaturely. "Someone from Hogsmeade!" He ran over to his friends, whispering excitedly.

The three friends stared at each other in incredulity.

"How could someone have died under Dumbledore's watch?" Valeria questioned, shocked.

Will scowled at the crassness of the younger student. "How is it that someone from Hogsmeade came onto school grounds?"

Louisa, hand to forehead, stared at the dark mark in the photograph. She shook her head in sadness. She looked at both of her friends, exhaling.

"How did they die?"


	4. Too Strange for Coincidence

The following morning provided such exquisite weather that even the most despairing of students would certainly have forgotten, if only for a moment, that they had been forced to spend their Sunday confined to the tight perimeter of the castle.

With a mysterious dead body showing up outside the Quidditch pitch in the middle of a game, no student had been allowed to venture beyond the immediate exterior of Hogwarts for the remainder of the weekend. Louisa, not entirely certain whether the Greenhouses could definitely be considered within that guideline, decided to take her chances.

The Hufflepuff common room had been abnormally loud with restless students looking for entertainment; Valeria, as was her way in the event of drama, distracted herself with Quidditch strategy for the next game; Will, in search of solitude, had slipped away early to study in the library, the events of the weekend weighing heavily on his own memories of death years before.

Wandering down in her favourite waist-hugging flared jeans and well-worn red jumper, Louisa had conceded to herself earlier that morning that any amount of grubby extra credit work with Professor Sprout was far more tolerable than listening to the younger students gossip about the dead body.

Walking alongside the first greenhouse, she could make out Professor Sprout's stout little figure through the cacophony of vines and flowering pot plants. She poked her head through an open window.

"Good morning Professor," she greeted.

Professor Sprout jumped a little, dropping her shears. She squinted up at Louisa, blinking several times.

"Ms Bright!" she exclaimed, "What on earth are you doing down here?"

Louisa ducked away from the window and hurried around to the doorway.

"I'm sorry Professor, I assumed I would still be helping you with some extra duties this morning."

"Certainly not," the Professor chided, retrieving her shears from the floor. "The Headmaster has specified that no students move beyond the castle perimeter – you know that."

"Sorry Professor," Louisa apologised. She folded her arms sheepishly. "The greenhouses are in a bit of a grey area."

Professor Sprout sighed. She seemed distracted and lacked the usual energy that was ever present in her bustling step. Louisa suspected the staff would have had a particularly long and sleepless night. She realised in that moment that waltzing down to the greenhouses despite the security lockdown had been rather arrogant on her part.

"You're a dedicated student, Ms Bright. But right now your safety is paramount."

Louisa nodded, making a move to leave the greenhouse.

"If you could do me one favour, however," the Professor requested, tossing jars and plant clippings into a canvas bag, "so that your trip down here is not entirely wasted…"

She extended the bag out to Louisa with an exhausted smile. "Madame Pomfrey needs her stocks replenished. If you drop these off to her, I will gladly award you a little extra credit."

Louisa let out a small laugh, slinging the bag around her shoulder. "Of course, Professor."

…..

As she climbed a monotonous wrought iron staircase, it became very apparent to Louisa that the hospital wing was a rather challenging part of the castle to reach. She mused that perhaps its location was intentionally obscure in the hopes that students looking to get out of classes or buy time on due assignments would think twice when faced with a journey almost as arduous as hiking to the owlery.

And yet, as Louisa met the landing, she wondered if it had always been so quiet in this part of the castle. She felt quite isolated the moment she began approaching the wing. In the distance, the door was slightly ajar. On the other side, several voices could be heard: that of a distraught woman followed by a man with a deep, gravelly accent, and finally a measured and gentle voice that unmistakably belonged to Albus Dumbledore.

The door was pushed outwards, revealing Dumbledore with a supportive arm around a plump middle-aged woman who, determined as she was to keep herself together, seemed more likely to sink to the floor. Just behind them was a solemn looking man in his sixties with peppery, short cut hair. Louisa instantly recognised him as the Minister for Magic, Harold Minchum.

Without thinking, Louisa slipped behind a wide stone pillar. Part of her knew that an encounter would have felt awkward and inappropriate, but the other part of her bubbled with concerned curiosity. She kept still, listening closely.

"I don't understand, Albus," the woman wept, "Herman would never have just come onto the grounds! He was too sick to wander beyond our garden. He knew his limits."

Behind them, Harold Minchum exhaled. "Hogwarts is one of the most well protected magical institutions in Britain, Dumbledore. These circumstances…"

"Herman had a great fondness for your bluebells as I recall, Iona," Dumbledore comforted. "I am almost certain he would have perched himself in that garden all day if it were up to him."

"I left him out there for a moment," Iona explained tearfully, "just a moment, Albus. And when I returned, he was nowhere to be found. But I promise he would never…"

Their voices grew smaller as they travelled down the hall and out of sight. Louisa emerged from behind the pillar, peering down the hall to make sure they had well and truly gone. There was a heaviness in her chest; a sense of sadness for the woman who had lost someone very important to her and a sense of guilt for listening to something so personal she really ought not to have heard.

She adjusted the canvas bag on her shoulder and continued toward the wing. Entering slowly, she looked around. Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen. A row of pristine, single beds lined either side of the room, each with their own bedside table and set of white curtains. At the back sat Madame Pomfrey's office and living quarters. The space was bright, with wide, arched windows offering generous views of the Hogwarts grounds below.

Louisa's eyes fell on a bed towards the back of the space. The curtain had been drawn, but the faint outline of a body could be seen, lying lifeless and facing upward. She walked along the beds, eyes forcefully focused ahead. She tried to block the drawn curtain from her peripherals as she passed by. After placing the bag on Madame Pomfrey's desk, she turned quickly with the intention of sprinting away without a second thought. But after one step, she couldn't take herself any further.

Louisa knew many people who had witnessed death first hand. Her parents were both doctors; her mother commuted to St Mungo's every day, working in the long term care ward, while her father ran a clinic for the small magical community surrounding Dover. Will had seen both of his parents die before his eyes. But Louisa had never been exposed so lucidly to death in all her life.

She moved towards the curtain slowly, extending an arm to draw it back ever so slightly. Her eyes landed on his face: Herman, who wasn't well, who loved bluebell flowers and who was so dearly loved by Iona. It was amazing to Louisa how those simple details she had ascertained minutes before made so much sense upon seeing this stranger's face.

Her eyes travelled to his hands. She let out a small gasp. They were mangled beyond repair. Blackened, raw clumps rested where human hands should have.

"Ms Bright?!"

A shrill, unwavering voice cut across the room. Louisa jumped, turning her head to the entrance of the wing. Madame Pomfrey, alarmed, hurried to her. She closed the curtain sharply before turning to Louisa.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Madame Pomfrey, I…"

"Why are you here? Are you unwell?"

Speechless, Louisa took a step back. "No, no," she assured, stuttering a little. "I brought…Professor Sprout sent me up with medicinal stock from the greenhouses."

Madame Pomfrey was caught between concern for her student and anger at her invasiveness.

Louisa swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. "I'm sorry, Madame Pomfrey, I shouldn't have looked."

She hurried out of the hospital wing, embarrassed, ashamed and terrified.

…..

Her body, it seemed, had decided on a destination before her mind. Louisa felt as though she was dashing around aimlessly, but eventually realised she was headed for the library. She wasn't ready to return to the Hufflepuff common room, where she knew students would still be keenly discussing all that had occurred the day before.

The library was rich in atmosphere, with thick red carpet, beaming mahogany furnishings and rustic shelves housing thousands upon thousands of books on every topic imaginable. Almost all of the tables were occupied with students, which was unusual for a weekend, but not surprising given the circumstances. Louisa bypassed the frazzled Ms Irma Pince, Hogwarts' neurotic and uptight librarian, in search of Will or Valeria.

She found both of them sprawled out on a round table beneath an ornate stained glass window. They had spread themselves thin, with their belongings covering every inch of their area.

Louisa plonked herself down next to Valeria, heart still racing from her encounter in the hospital wing. Will peeled himself away from a heavy old book opposite her, sighing in frustration.

"I have _never_ had to fight so hard for a table in the library," she whispered melodramatically, peering around defensively at the surrounding students. "And now I simply cannot work on my quidditch strategy. Any one of them could be spying."

"Why didn't you stay in the common room?" Louisa asked, rolling her head back to look at the ceiling.

"There was so much talk of the dead body, Lou," Valeria insisted, "so much so that I thought I was beginning to see it everywhere I looked."

Louisa gave a half-hearted grunt in response. She wanted to reveal what she had seen to her friends desperately, but the thought of Iona's trembling figure prevented her from verbalising anything.

"Oh, these came for you," Valeria remembered, reaching into her bag. She placed a stack of individual letters in Louisa's lap.

Louisa examined them, surprised. "Where did you get these?"

"Winnie dropped them on my head when I was walking to the library," she explained. "I think she was sick of carrying them around."

The letters were all written by Louisa, addressed to her sister, Edie. A month's worth of undelivered correspondence felt extremely heavy in her hands.

"Is Winnie on strike at the moment?" Valeria joked.

Will looked from the letters to Louisa's crinkled brow. "Why aren't the letters being delivered?"

Louisa swallowed another lump that had risen in her throat. She took a deep, disappointed breath. "I don't know," she admitted, placing them on the table. "At first I wasn't receiving any reply…but now this."

"Do you think it has to do with the…you know…the rebellion?"

"What?" Valeria chimed in, placing a hand on Louisa's shoulder. "I haven't heard about any of this."

"Don't worry, I'll tell you later." Louisa assured her friend whilst shrugging at Will. "There's too many people in here."

Valeria squeezed her shoulder before returning to her secretive attempt at quidditch strategy.

Louisa peered over at Will's homework. "Is that for Transfiguration?"

He nodded, flipping through the book in front of him. "Yeah, but I'd have finished by now if I'd been able to find the revised edition of this textbook."

"Oh no, you've been using the old version?"

"Well, Ms Pince said there was a revised copy available but it isn't where it should be. And I don't think she's in a particularly helpful mood right now."

They looked over at the librarian, who was furiously sorting through a tower of returned books.

"Don't worry," Louisa promised, signalling to a section behind them. "I'm sure I saw Ravenna Selwyn put it with the history books on Friday. I'll go and have a look."

Louisa rose from her seat and weaved her way through the ocean of students to the history section. She disappeared into the labyrinth of shelves, trying to remember the spot where she'd seen the book. She found it towards the end of a dense row of books by Bathilda Bagshot. She reached for the textbook, placing a hand on the spine. She stopped a moment, noticing that her hand was trembling. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves.

Slowly, she pulled the book from the shelf, almost dropping it as she sighted Sirius and Allegra snogging in the row next door.

"You've got to be kidding me," Louisa groaned. Her comment was louder than she had intended. The couple promptly broke apart, Sirius grinning through the shelf at Louisa.

"Voyeurism becomes you, Lou Lou."

"Don't call me 'Lou Lou'," she retorted, pushing a particularly large, dusty book across his face.

He ambled around the shelf separating them, leaning casually against it. "Don't be jealous, it's the seventies, free love abounds."

"Be serious, for once in your life."

"I'm always Sirius in my life."

"How many times have you used that one?"

"It's the gift that keeps on giving, honestly."

Allegra stood behind Sirius, arms folded impatiently, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry I've taken up so much of your precious time," Louisa said pointedly at Allegra. She turned to Sirius, "At least you have your priorities straight."

She noticed him watching her trembling hands. He took a step towards her.

"What's going on?"

The question was quiet and genuine. It caught Louisa off guard. She backed away without a word, retreating back through the shelves.

When she reached Will and Valeria, she found Will sopping wet and his homework damp and smudged.

"What happened?"

Will stared at his homework, dejected.

"Regulus Black sauntered through with his stupid gang of followers and threw a jinx at Will as they passed." Valeria snapped, trying to siphon the water from her friend.

Louisa tossed the book onto her chair. "Where did he go?"

"They left the library," Valeria grumbled. "Just forget it Lou, they're not worth it."

"But our friend is," she stated, hurrying out of the library.

…..

Louisa pushed open the door furiously, looking around. Regulus and his Slytherin friends were rounding a corner in the distance.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Louisa called out.

The group stopped, staring her down. Regulus moved to approach her. He halted suddenly before turning around once more, his friends hurrying after him. They disappeared around the corner.

Louisa, confused, looked behind her. Sirius was standing there, shaking his head.

"Don't bother with him," he reasoned, "he's a lost cause."

"Right," Louisa replied, swivelling to fully face Sirius. "I won't bother with him the way you didn't bother with him yesterday after the match."

"He knows his limits with me," he explained, "but not with other people."

"You're his older brother!" she ranted, her arms flying around in exasperation. "Why don't you do something? Stop standing by while he torments my friend."

Sirius ran a hand through his shaggy locks. A twitch of an emotion Louisa had not seen before flashed across his face - was it frustration?

"Don't talk about my relationship with my brother."

"You've practically abandoned him!" But Louisa was no longer talking about Sirius and Regulus. Thoughts of her sister swelled inside her mind and simply couldn't control herself.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about," Sirius blurted. His tone was confused – he was caught somewhere between his usual blasé demeanour and the growing agitation behind it. "You're exceptionally frustrating, you know that?"

"I'm frustrating?! You seem to have an inability to maintain a simple, straightforward conversation. You're impossible."

"That's funny, impossible is the one word I'd use to describe you!" he snarled, storming away down the corridor.

Valeria and Will emerged from the library a moment later. Valeria looked from Will, downtrodden and depressed, to Louisa, who appeared manic and slightly wild.

"Oh boy," she muttered.

…

At lunch, the three friends sat side-by-side along the Hufflepuff table. To the left, Will ran a fork through his food, barely making an effort to eat anything. In the middle, Valeria chewed on a piece of baguette awkwardly, unwilling to look at either of her friends. To the right, Louisa shoved mouthful after mouthful of potato angrily into her mouth. She was blinking back tears of anger and exhaustion. She raised her arm to her eyes and dried her tears with her jumper.

Valeria turned to her friend, trying to read her expression. "What's wrong? Are you crying?"

Louisa swallowed her last mouthful of potato and sniffed. "No."

"Lou, you're crying, look at you!"

She stood abruptly, brushing her jeans with her hands. "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Valeria tossed her baguette onto her plate, sighing. "What a day."

….

As Louisa wandered to the bathroom, a familiar figure approached her from the opposite direction. Albus Dumbledore was terrifically tall and surprisingly imposing when he travelled towards you. He seemed to catch you in a spider-web gaze so strong that you had no choice but to allow him to impart years of puzzling wisdom onto you.

Louisa mustered a terribly nervous smile as he approached.

"Ah, Ms Bright," he greeted her, gently. "What a pleasant coincidence."

"Professor Dumbledore," she responded. "Are you on your way to lunch?"

"Alas, I am only passing through." He admitted with a small chuckle. He folded a lolly wrapper in half and tucked it into his robe pocket. "A fizzing whizzbee shall have to suffice until dinner time."

"Ah, I see."

"And where might you be off to?"

"The bathroom, sir."

He smiled kindly with a twinkle in his eye. "You will forgive me for being so blunt, Ms Bright," he uttered, "but I see that this morning's journey to the hospital wing has left you deeply disturbed."

He nodded to her hands which were shaking by her side. She clasped them behind her back self-consciously.

"I should apologise, Sir…"

Dumbledore shook his head knowingly. "Death is perhaps the most intriguing and mysterious part of life," he pondered. "And though it can never be fully understood, I find it best managed in our minds when it is shared with those whom we trust."

"Thank you, sir."

"A friend will always listen when given the chance to."

Dumbledore smiled once more, moving past Louisa.

"This meeting wasn't a coincidence," she queried, "was it, sir?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "I find, Ms Bright, that the events we consider to be pure coincidence are anything but."


	5. That Which We Hide, part one

"Are we certain it's supposed to look like that?"

"I've made it at least a dozen times before. I promise we're on the right track."

"I forgot about the lumps."

"Don't worry, you don't have to drink it."

"I can barely even look at it."

Louisa and Lily peered into their compact, brass cauldron, disgusted but pleased with their congealing Herbicide Potion. On the bench beside them lay the remnants of their ingredients: Flobberworm mucus, Horclump juice and the spines of Lionfish. The concoction was potent to be sure, but was intended to kill all sorts of plants and weeds – particularly those which could be considered a pest to any natural habitat.

The potion itself was not exceptionally challenging to make, but Louisa's potions professor, Horace Slughorn, had been intrigued by recent research into the Herbicide Potion's tendency to poison soil and become a peculiar health threat. He had assigned pairs earlier that afternoon and instructed the students to make a batch so that they could further investigate as a class.

"Well done!" Professor Slughorn beamed, poking his nose into the cauldron as he passed. "Very impressive as usual, Ms Evans."

"Thank you, sir," Lily replied politely.

His eyes glided past Louisa without a second thought as he wandered away to observe the other students. As always, Professor Slughorn was blissfully unaware of any student in his class who did not belong to his elite 'Slug Club'. The group, as Louisa understood it, was comprised mostly of students who came from wealthy, prominent families with celebrity connections; or, in rarer cases, students of exceptional proven talent and ability, such as Lily.

"We did well," Lily encouraged, nudging Louisa with her shoulder. "I'm proud of us."

"Don't forget about me during your toast at the next Slug Club meeting," Louisa teased, nudging her back.

Lily laughed quietly, stacking her notebooks to one side so she could begin to clean their station. A small scrap of parchment tumbled from the stack to the floor. Louisa reached down, examining it. She squinted at the scrawl, realising it was a flirty love note to Lily.

"Is this from James Potter?" she asked curiously, holding the parchment out to her friend.

Lily turned bright red. She took the parchment and hastily tucked it into her pocket. "It was just something to do with our last meeting with Professor Dumbledore."

"Does the headmaster also comment on how good you look in the winter stockings?"

Lily let out a small squeak, throwing her hand over Louisa's mouth. She looked to James across the classroom who was busy picking Lionfish spines out of Peter Pettigrew's jumper, while an exasperated Slughorn supervised.

Lily cleared her throat, releasing Louisa. She resumed her cleaning. "Are you going to come down to The Three Broomsticks tomorrow?" she questioned, changing the subject.

"To the seventh year's Halloween party, you mean?"

"It'll be good fun, I think," Lily assured. "You should definitely come. Especially now that we're allowed to go back down."

As the weekend passed and the new school week progressed, the teachers had unanimously decided to reopen the path to Hogsmeade. They found the students were regressing into a bizarre sort of barbarism the longer they remained couped up within the castle walls. Louisa knew a trip to Hogsmeade would clear her head and distract her from what had occurred several days prior, but the fact that it was going to be a loud, raucous party in a pub meant that Sirius would most definitely be present.

Upon reflection, Louisa knew that their argument had been petty and unnecessary, and due mostly to the concerns she had been unhealthily repressing all day. But she refused to believe that the events of the quidditch match had not affected him in the slightest. He was clearly just better at hiding his feelings than anyone else.

"Sorry Lily," she said, "but I don't think it's in the cards for tomorrow."

…..

In the evening, Louisa found herself lying on her mattress once again pouring over the undelivered letters she had addressed to her sister. She debated whether writing to her parents would do more harm than good. On the one hand, they would surely want to know if their eldest daughter had spontaneously gone missing after potentially joining a rebellion. On the other hand, however, it was more than likely that they too had been writing to Edie and fretting over her lack of correspondence.

The door to the dormitory swung open. Valeria dragged herself into the room and flung herself onto her bed.

"Why so gloomy, Val?"

She huffed, peeling her face away from her pillow. "The Halloween party has been cancelled."

Louisa feigned disappointment. "Oh no, Val - that's unfortunate."

"I was really looking forward to it," she complained. "And it's the last of the autumn weather too. It would have been perfect."

Louisa contemplated a moment. "Well, we can always go down and have a butterbeer anyway."

Valeria perked up suddenly, grinning. "Really?"

"Yeah, and it might be a good idea to get Will out of the castle for the afternoon."

Valeria cackled deviously, throwing herself onto Louisa's bed.

"Why are you laughing like that?" Louisa queried, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

Valeria stretched, shaking her head. "It'll be good to hang out down at the pub is all."

"Why was the party cancelled, by the way?"

Louisa tried to make eye contact with her friend who rolled away from her bed.

"Oh, uh, a number of reasons," she mused. "The point is it was _definitely_ cancelled."

"Right…"

….

"I knew it," Louisa cried, glaring at her friend. "I bloody knew it."

Valeria, hands on hips, cackled as she had the night before. Behind them, Will sighed in defeat.

The three friends stood before The Three Broomsticks pub; a very broad, very wooden and comfortably old establishment which had been servicing the alcoholic needs of the inhabitants of Hogsmeade since time immemorial.

Inside, Louisa could make out a large gathering of seventh years, all adorning ridiculous costume items in celebration of the holiday.

"Seriously, Val," Will groaned. "Why did you lie to us?"

Valeria sunk her arm into the strappy little purse that hung across her body. "It was the only way I was getting both of you down here," she assured them as she rifled around in her bag. "And I didn't want to come without you."

She pulled a large green top hat from the depths of her purse followed by a green scarf. She placed the hat on Will's head and slung the scarf around his neck.

"What…am I?" he asked, horrified.

"A leprechaun, obviously," Valeria scoffed, reaching back into her purse.

She struggled momentarily with a pair of cat ears attached to a headband, detangling them from a bride's veil. She plopped the veil on her head before approaching Louisa with the ears.

"No…" Louisa said, backing away.

Valeria huffed. "Look, if you go in without any sort of costume on you'll feel more ridiculous."

"I didn't say I was going in."

"You're here now," Valeria stated, fastening the headband to Louisa's head. She pulled a little container and brush from her purse, and, dipping the brush into the liquid, drew a small cat nose and whiskers onto her friend's face. "Where else are you going to go?"

"What more could you possibly have in there?"

"Just one final thing," she answered gleefully. She pulled a curious little capsule from a side pocket and placed it in her mouth, biting down hard. Red liquid spilled through her lips, oozing along her chin. "Mmm, I love raspberry."

Louisa looked over her shoulder at Will. He gave her a resigned look.

"Lead the way, corpse bride," she commanded.

Valeria grabbed both of their arms and dragged them along behind her. "I was going for more of a 'vampire bride' look, but I'll take it."

…..

The pub was filled with a jovial crowd of Hogsmeade locals eager to while away their Saturday afternoon over strong, local brews and friendly banter. Intermingled amongst them was Hogwarts seventh years adorning ridiculous Halloween costumes, calling out to each other enthusiastically over the upbeat Wizard-rock music booming from an old gramophone behind the bar.

Louisa held tight to Valeria and Will as they pushed their way through the crowd to the bar, narrowly escaping being crushed between two competing beer bellies.

She felt someone grab her from the side. She looked up just in time to see Lily, wearing a lopsided flower crown and rainbow eyeshadow, throw an arm around her shoulders.

"You made it!" she cheered, giving her a squeeze. "I knew you would."

"You can thank Val for that," Louisa admitted, adjusting her cat ears.

Quickly, she pulled Lily aside as a fellow seventh year stumbled past, spilling two pints of butterbeer without even noticing.

"Was he drunk?" Louisa noted, watching after him.

Lily pointed to the other side of the bar where Sirius, a pirate, and James, a Muggle nun, were laughing with the owner. "Sirius convinced Madame Rosmerta to let them have a few bottles of firewhiskey," she explained sheepishly. "I think she fancies him."

"What if a teacher walks in?"

"Yes, I'm a bit worried about that," Lily admitted.

"Head boy, stumbling around drunk," Louisa pondered. "Surely he'll get into a lot of trouble."

"Oh no, James isn't drinking," she insisted, "he knows he has a responsibility, and I asked him not to. He – he wouldn't disappoint me."

Lily blushed furiously, turning to the bar to order.

Louisa chuckled, looking from Lily to James. She wondered how different their relationship was when no one else was around. She was absolutely certain at this point that Lily did not detest James nearly as much as she made herself out to.

Lily passed a heavy glass of butterbeer to Louisa, before reaching across the bar for her own. They brought their glasses together carefully for a cheers as the frothy liquid threatened spill out onto the floorboards.

"Be right back," Lily promised, waving to someone over Louisa's shoulder. She nudged her way between a group of locals and was swallowed into the crowd.

Louisa looked around, overwhelmed by the atmosphere. The black paint Valeria had used on her face was beginning to itch and her cat ears kept slipping down onto her face. She could see a large, feathered pirate hat bobbing in her general direction. The pirate was most definitely Sirius, and Louisa wasn't prepared to bump into him. She was fast running out of witty quips to deflect him with and legitimate reasons as to why she should despise him so. She dove into the crowd, away from any possible interaction.

When she emerged, she stumbled into a small, wobbly table with an untouched glass of spiced mead teetering precariously near the edge. The mead belonged to Remus Lupin, who steadied it before it could go tumbling down into an abyss of robes and shoes.

"Sorry, Remus," Louisa shouted so that he could hear, "it's impossible to move in here."

He smiled weakly, shaking his head. He offered her the empty seat next to him, which she accepted gratefully.

"I don't think it would have been missed anyway," he admitted, sliding his glass into the middle of the table.

She noted his appearance. He had always worn shabby clothes and kept his hair limp across his eyes, and even the sickly pallor his face had turned was a frequent addition to his overall demeanour. But Remus did not seem well - there were grey bruises under his eyes, a sheen of sweat sat speckled on his forehead and his quickness of breath suggested he was in a perpetual state of anxiety.

"Are you alright, Remus?" she asked, setting her own drink on the table.

"Just a little under the weather," he asserted with a smile. "I didn't want to miss out on James and Sirius making utter fools of themselves."

"Though James will be a sober fool," Louisa noted, looking at Remus.

"He's been a sober fool for nearly seven years," he observed. "Why would he stop now?"

Louisa followed his eye line to Lily. Though James and Lily were not in the same conversation, they may as well have been the way they glanced at each other across the room.

"You think he would have given up by now."

"Despite all his bravado, James is an incredibly intuitive person," Remus reasoned. "If there was no hope, he would have given up long ago."

Sirius appeared beside James, ruffling his already untameable hair. "Sirius makes himself out to be a complete messer who only cares about his own needs," Remus continued, "but he's practically raised himself his entire life. He mightn't seem like he worries about much, but honestly, the greatest concern in his life is, and always has been, the people that he loves."

Louisa became aware of a fluttering in her stomach, and while she may have justifiably attributed it to drinking butterbeer without having eaten anything prior, she knew this fluttering had started long before that. It had been a matter of simply repressing it for some time now, but the sensation was stronger than before and she didn't understand how to appease it, or if perhaps, it could be appeased at all.

"What about you then," she teased, finishing a gulp of her beverage. "You are nothing but kind and well-tempered. Your monstrous side must be kept within."

Remus laughed at the joke, taking a very small sip of his mead. "And you?" He prompted, facing her.

"Me?" She panicked, trying to deflect the question. "I can't answer for myself. It wouldn't be accurate."

Remus chuckled, calling out to Will as he wandered past, befuddled. "Will! We need your help."

He squeezed his way over, swaying a little as he arrived at the table. He clung to a glass with a vibrant red liquid swirling inside.

"Are you drinking firewhiskey?"

He looked from the glass to Louisa and shrugged. He gave a tipsy wave to Remus.

"Will, how would you describe Louisa?" Remus quizzed. "The part of her we see and the part that she hides."

Will contemplated the question a while, trying to formulate his words.

"She's quietly fierce," he started, "or, sometimes not so quietly..."

"Ok, ok..." Louisa interjected, "that'll do."

Will put a finger to his lips and clumsily shushed her.

"Sometimes she's a bit of a misanthrope, _but only sometimes,_ because...because she doesn't know how to ask for help. That's the part we don't see. We don't see when she needs help or when she's sturg...struggling with something, and we only know when she needs help because she'll get really angry out of nowhere."

"Thanks, Will." Louisa insisted, trying to push him into the seat she was now standing from.

"Which you have been _a lot_ lately," Will added, slowly settling in next to Remus. "And I reckon a lot of it has to do with someone, but I won't say who because one of his best friends is right next to me."

Remus cracked a huge grin, attempting to conceal it with another sip of his mead.

"I'm going to get some air," Louisa declared. She turned to Remus, "Please don't let him drink any more of that."

….

As Louisa pushed her way towards the entrance to the pub, she noticed Sirius waving his obnoxious pirate's hat next to the doorway. She stopped and reconsidered her path. She needed to get fresh air, but she didn't need it that desperately. She opted for the little, covered courtyard at the back of the pub instead, making a very deliberate, sharp turn in her step.

Louisa climbed over boxes and crates of bottles sitting along the corridor tucked behind the bar. At the end was a steep, rickety staircase leading to Madame Rosmerta's home, and to the right, the doorway to the courtyard. She reached for the handle and pulled. It wouldn't budge. She pulled harder, but it seemed to have been locked. She jumped, trying to glimpse out of the small, porthole window at the top of the door. With each jump, she could ascertain with some clarity that there were at least three seventh years having some sort of discussion. With one final leap, she recognized that they were Slytherin students, and that their conversation was more of an argument.

Louisa pulled her wand from her pocket and pointed it at the lock. "Alohomora," she whispered, but to no avail. The door remained unaffected.

She frowned, staring at the door. If there was a locking charm in use stronger than the counter-effects of 'alohomora', then it certainly hadn't been taught at Hogwarts, nor should it have been in use by a student.

She squinted at a small, dusty window next to the door. If she stood on her toes, Louisa could just reach a crack in the glass. She raised her wand carefully, sliding the tip through the crack.

"Aurem Audire," she murmured, placing her ear as close to the other end of her wand as she could. Though her intention was to listen in on the students, she could barely hear them over the sounds of the pub all around her. She strained, attempting to catch anything.

"The ministry should recruit you as a spy," a voice teased to her side.

Louisa jumped back, her wand falling through the crack into the courtyard.

"Sirius!" she hissed, glaring at him.

He looked at her curiously. Leaning in, he stretched over her, peering out of the window. His chest pressed against her shoulder ever so slightly, sending a deep flush over her face.

"My wand is in there," she said, attempting to move around him. "I'm going to get Madame Rosmerta."

Sirius grabbed her hand, holding her close by his side. The fluttering in her stomach had never felt so violent. She tried to pull away.

"What are you doing?"

The door to the courtyard flew open. Three Slytherin seventh years climbed through the doorway, a tense mood surrounding them. The first was Evan Rosier, whose father was a well known supporter of Voldemort; the second was Gervase Goyle, who, Louisa realized, had actually graduated several years earlier; and finally, Severus Snape, with the most poisonous scowl imprinted across his face. They stopped upon seeing Louisa and Sirius.

"Isn't this the line for secret courtyard meetings?" Sirius remarked, pulling Louisa past them and out into the courtyard. "If you're all finished in there, we have our own plans for world domination that we'd like to discuss."

"You'll be needing this, then," Rosier said, holding up Louisa's wand. He dangled it in front of her like one might dangle a treat in front of a desperate dog.

"You wouldn't last a second out there," Goyle boasted, his thick arms barely crossing over each other.

"You couldn't even pass your final exams," Louisa retorted, taking her wand in a quick motion. "You barely lasted at Hogwarts."

"Don't become involved in things you aren't prepared to accept the consequences for," Snape warned, sneering at Louisa.

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Snivellus?" Sirius interjected, daring him to continue.

Snape scowled, slinking away into the pub. Rosier went with him.

"Your mother says hi," Goyle hinted, following after the others.

"Good!" Sirius called out. "Tell her I want my Gryffindor scarf back – I know she kept it for herself!"

He turned to Louisa, holding out their joined hands. "I've never felt so confident in starting a brawl," he joked, "with your fist next to me."

Embarrassed, she let go of his hand. She had been rendered speechless by the interaction.

Sirius pulled a flask from his pocket and took a swig before offering it to Louisa. She hesitated before accepting. She brought the flask to her lips and tipped a small amount into her mouth, trying very hard not to grimace at the strong, stinging flavor. She passed it back.

"Thanks," she said, wiping her mouth.

"Don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from," he promised, tucking the flask back into his pocket.

"No, thank you for just before," she corrected, trying not to make prolonged eye contact. "Thank you for…helping me."

Sirius took a step back, staring at her with a baffled expression. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Are you really 'Louisa'? Where's the polyjuice potion?"

"Fine, I take it back."

"Ok, ok, I call a truce."

He extended his hand to her in an offer of peace. She took it warily, shaking hands for a moment.

"Ah, any excuse to hold your hand," he said.

Louisa pulled her hand away immediately, exasperated. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

He scratched his head sheepishly. "Yes, I suppose you're right…"

"Oh for goodness sake," Louisa exclaimed, marching out of the courtyard.

"But we're still friends now, aren't we?" Sirius called, following after her.


	6. That Which We Hide, part two

As Louisa and Sirius emerged from behind the bar, she glimpsed the figures of Rosier, Goyle and Snape as they exited the pub and disappeared into the bracing, wintry afternoon. She scanned the room for her friends, noticing that Remus and Will were no longer huddled at their table.

"Here," Sirius said, passing her a glass with a clear liquid inside.

She shook her head. "I've had enough of spirits for one afternoon."

"I didn't know water was a spirit," he laughed, holding it between them.

"Ah…"

She accepted the glass, downing the entire contents in one huge gulp. She hadn't realised how thirsty she had become until the moment the water touched her lips. He watched her curiously, sipping at his own drink.

"Why were you spying back there?"

"It wasn't intentional," she assured.

"Yes," he mused, "I too often find myself 'unintentionally' using one-way amplifying spells to listen in on people's conversations."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"You're talking to Sirius Black," he pointed out, taking their glasses and placing them on the bar counter. "I hold myself accountable to no one and expect the exact same in return. I'm asking you as a _friend._ "

Louisa hesitated. It was, in all honesty, an action based entirely on presumption rather than legitimate reason.

"I went out to get fresh air," she explained, "but the door was locked with an unusually strong charm. I could see them arguing about something and given everything that's happened…"

" _And_ because they are Slytherins."

"Well, yes," she admitted. "But what kind student argument needs to happen behind an impenetrably charmed doorway? And why was Gervase Goyle with them? He graduated _three years_ ago. Why would he even be here in Hogsmeade?"

Sirius didn't answer. He seemed momentarily lost in his thoughts.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Will threw his arms around Louisa's shoulders. He was red faced and bleary-eyed, with a wide, goofy grin stretched across his face.

"I don't feel so good," he slurred, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Where's Remus?" she asked, concerned.

"Lily and James walked him back to…the place."

"The place?"

"Howgorts."

"Honestly, Lou. 'Howgorts'! Where we've been studying for the past six and a half years," Sirius said, amused by Will's inebriation.

Louisa was thrown by Sirius' casual use of her nickname. It sounded strange rolling out of his mouth, like he was the one who came up with it to begin with.

"Well, I think I should take you back to Howgorts too," she suggested, struggling with Will's sloppy demeanour. "Can you see Val? We're going to need her assistance."

"I don't think she'll be very willing," Sirius chuckled, motioning to the fireplace.

Valeria was entangled with Gryffindor seventh year and rival quidditch beater, Tobias Wilburn. It looked as if they would never inhale another breath of fresh air ever again.

Louisa groaned, arms wobbling as she supported her friend. Suddenly, Sirius pulled Will away from her. He slung an arm over his shoulders and made for the front of the pub, guiding him to the entry.

"What are you doing?" she shouted, following behind.

"You were never going to _ask_ for myhelp," he replied.

…

Louisa's breath instantly clouded her face the moment she stepped out. The air had become significantly colder and most people had moved inside to escape it. Through her breath, she could discern a mildly familiar figure at the corner of the street. Iona, the widow of Herman, who had been found dead a week before on the Hogwarts grounds, was passing by with a basket of dead bluebell flowers. She watched as Iona crossed the street and continued on.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of Will retching on the sidewalk. Sirius was patting him on the back, leaning away from any possible splatter.

"Oh Will," she sighed, walking over.

"Don't pity him," Sirius said. "He's had a legendary afternoon."

"Of course you'd look at it that way," she responded.

Once Will had finished expelling the contents of his stomach, they hoisted him upright, guiding him around and away from the mess. Louisa turned back, pointing her wand at the sidewalk.

"Aqua Eructo," she said, and a strong jet of water spouted from the tip of her wand, clearing away any evidence of Will's drinking exploits.

Tucking her wand away and adjusting her cat ears, she moved to Will and Sirius. She slung Will's other arm over her shoulders and placed a firm arm around his back. After accidentally resting her hand on Sirius', she promptly dragged it away.

Sirius placed his pirate hat on Will's head, obscuring his face lest any curious individual felt the need to rat them out to the school.

They began walking to the end of the street, passing where Iona had walked from.

"What's up there?" she asked, eyes following a tree-lined path that curved away behind the buildings.

"The cemetery," he replied, adjusting his grip as Will slipped a little towards the ground.

Louisa felt a pang of sadness, understanding that Iona must have come from visiting her husband's grave. She seemed a small woman to begin with, but her hunched shoulders and crossed arms somehow made her seem smaller, like she was determined to fade away into insignificance.

"Do you know that woman?" he asked, looking back to where Iona had walked by.

"No. Why would you think that?"

"You looked like you were about to call out."

"I don't know her at all."

"Oh, I get it. She beat you in a punch-on and you won't admit it because she's at least twice your age."

"Yes, Sirius, that's exactly it."

"Padfoot, please."

"That is the strangest nickname I have ever heard," she proclaimed, slipping a little on the damp ground. "Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail and…"

"…Moony."

"Yes. Where did those names come from?"

Sirius laughed. "It's an inside joke – you wouldn't find it funny."

Will grumbled something and hiccupped, head hanging forward a little. Louisa and Sirius looked at each other and smirked.

They had reached the bottom of the path that would take them up through the Hogwarts gate and into the expansive school grounds. The grass had turned an earthy yellow and the trees were looking remarkably bare. Only a few richly coloured autumn leaves remained clinging for dear life. The clouds above them swirled, their gloomy grey pallor dominating the skyline.

They walked in silence for a while, the wind whipping their faces. Louisa couldn't help but wonder if this was a rarity for Sirius; it had always seemed that he possessed an endless pool of witticisms at his disposal no matter the situation or the people. But as they dragged Will along the inclining path, Sirius did not open his mouth. Louisa felt, in his presence and in their immediate reticence, that so much was being communicated between them without a single word.

"So sad," Will muttered, rolling his head upright.

"You're sad?" Louisa asked.

"No," Will corrected, "you are."

"Oh."

"Both of you," he continued, looking between them.

"Sad that we have to carry you all the way up this hill," Sirius stated.

"Stop, stop…"

Will recoiled from Louisa and Sirius. He stumbled to a rock several feet away and began vomiting again. They hung back, cringing.

"The last time I saw him like this was after Regulus dared him to drink a vomiting potion," Sirius recollected, running a hand through his tousled black locks.

"It seems quite far-fetched that they used to be best friends," Louisa admitted, looking up at the castle.

"It was the first and last time he came to visit Grimmauld Place," he said.

"Grimmauld Place?"

"The home of my deranged family."

The matter-of-fact way in which Sirius described his family sent a shiver of pity through Louisa. She had known, like much of the student body, that Sirius Black did not get along with his family. It was obvious enough on the first day of their sixth year that something particularly terrible had happened, but it wasn't until much later that Louisa learned Sirius had run away from home and was living with James.

"The day I left," he continued, "is one of the happiest days in my life."

"I remember the day you received your wand in Ollivanders," Louisa recalled. "I was waiting behind you, actually."

Sirius looked at her with surprise.

"Your mother demanded that you have an Elm wand, because it was considered a wand for pure-bloods. I remember so clearly how miserable you looked, but how excited you were when you finally walked away with your Ebony wand."

He laughed, shaking his head. As he went to speak, Will reappeared beside them. He seemed to have sobered up slightly, and while he still swayed as he walked, he appeared to be more able to hold himself upright.

"Onward!" he shouted, stumbling away towards the gate.

A sudden, sharp cry filled the air. Their attention was drawn to a group of students gathered nearby. They were panicked. Sirius and Louisa hurried ahead towards them.

"Oi!" He called out, causing them all to turn around. "What's going on?"

A Hufflepuff second year was crouched on the ground in the middle of the group, clasping his hand to his chest. Tears were welling in his eyes.

"What happened?" Louisa asked, crouching next to the Hufflepuff boy.

A Ravenclaw girl looked around sheepishly before answering. "We dared him to touch the gate, to see what would happen."

Louisa forced the boy to reveal his hand, which had been horribly singed. She observed it for a moment before a revelation overwhelmed her. She thought back to Herman's dead body in the hospital wing and how his hands had effectively been burned away.

"You should all know that these gates are heavily guarded with all sorts of enchantments," she scolded, pulling her wand out.

"He barely touched it for a second," the Ravenclaw girl explained. "We didn't know that this would happen!"

Louisa pointed her wand at the boy's hand. "Sancalor," she uttered, and a wide, silvery sheen engulfed it. After a moment, it dissipated. The hand was still remarkably injured, but not nearly as red as it had been minutes before.

"That should take the heat away from the burn," she explained. "But you need to go straight to the hospital wing." She looked up at the other students. "You're all going to take him and explain what happened."

They watched the group depart back through the gates.

"I'm impressed. You know an awful lot about healing magic," Sirius noted, watching them go.

"Both my mother and father are healers, actually," she said, examining the gate. "So I've picked up a few useful spells from them."

"Have you got a good spell for you friend?" He questioned, signalling to Will who was looking sickly again.

"No amount of magic can suppress the monumental hangover he is going to have tomorrow," she admitted, tucking away her wand.

Sirius laughed. "Still worth it," he said.

"Sirius, I think this is how the dead body came onto the grounds," she admitted, walking up to him.

"By climbing over?"

"Yes."

"Impossible," he stated, "No one in their right mind would be able to tolerate that kind of pain."

"I…I saw the body. I heard Dumbledore talking."

Sirius stopped. He noted her sad, guilt-ridden expression.

"He was a man from Hogsmeade," she clarified. "And his wife was the woman we saw walking just before. She said he was very ill, and couldn't possibly have had the strength go beyond their garden."

"Lou…"

"But I saw his body, Sirius. I saw his hands. They'd been burned to stumps."

Sirius walked up to the gate, scrutinising it.

"I don't understand how or why he would have done such a thing. Like you said, no one in their right mind could withstand that kind of pain…"

Sirius turned back to face her. "What if he wasn't in his right mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if he had been compelled? Forced against his will?"

"How?"

"One of the three unforgivable curses…"

"But they're absolutely forbidden," she protested. "That's a life sentence in Azkaban."

"I can think of at least half a dozen students who would be stupid enough to try."

"But why would they? Who could they possibly think they're impressing?"

"Does no one come to mind?"

Louisa quietened, trying to contain her shock. She met Sirius' eyes. "Back at the pub, when Goyle mentioned your mother…"

"There's only two things my mother and Goyle have in common," he warned. "They're both 'proud' purebloods. And, well, let's just say they're avid supporters of a certain public figure."

"Do you think Goyle is encouraging this sort of behaviour…"

"No, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is a messenger of some sort. Or recruiting…"

Louisa was speechless. She didn't know how to process all of this information. Of course, in the eyes of an adult, two school students speculating and coming to fairly extreme conclusions was not likely to be taken seriously. But what terrified Louisa was knowing that there was hardly any other conclusion that could be drawn from all of this. And what of her sister? If Edie had well and truly been inducted into a rebellion whose primary function was to fight against this sort of evil, then there was a great likelihood that she was in danger of having this kind of dark magic used against her.

"Come on," Sirius insisted, "we should get back to the castle."

"I don't think we'll get past Filch like this," she confessed, looking at Will. "I was hoping he would have sobered up a lot more by now."

"Don't worry," Sirius declared, grabbing Will. "I know a secret way."

…

Along a brightly lit corridor on the first floor of the castle, an empty portrait began to jiggle. It was, curiously, the only empty portrait amongst two-dozen or so all linked by a magical combat theme.

The empty portrait slid from the hook upon which it was suspended, landing with a thud on the stone floor. A hollow passageway was hidden behind the portrait, and from the opening, Sirius appeared. He looked around momentarily, checking that he had not been spotted. Swiftly, he leapt down, followed clumsily by Will, who tumbled onto his bum with a bang. He groaned loudly. Louisa appeared a second later, carefully jumping down, ignoring Sirius' 'gallant' offer to catch her.

She brushed herself off, amazed.

"We're next to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, aren't we?"

"Cuts out all that walking from the greenhouses, as long as you don't mind a little dusty climbing."

"How did you know about this?"

"I sniffed it out," he said, winking.

Will scrambled to his feet and began waddling off, presumably towards the Hufflepuff common room. Louisa turned to Sirius.

"Thank you…again. For Will, and for…you know, down at the gate. I was hiding that for a little too long."

Sirius smiled. "The things we hide are the things most worth protecting."

He gave her another wink before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

….

The following afternoon in Potions, Louisa found herself struggling against an immense tiredness that had followed her since the previous evening. Carrying Will had forced her to use muscles in her body she had not been previously aware of. She had been lying awake for hours, too, more distressed than ever concerning the whereabouts of her sister, the possibility of school students using dark magic and the probability that she was developing intense romantic feelings for a certain black haired, grey eyed Gryffindor.

As class finished, she became aware that Lily and James were bickering next to her. She began to pack away her things, half tuning in to what was causing such tension between them.

James leaned across the counter separating them and gave Lily a brisk kiss on the cheek before dashing out, book bag bouncing around against his back.

"I'll make it up to you, Evans!" He called, disappearing down the dungeon hallway.

Lily sighed, packing away her own things. She glanced at the seat next to her and sighed again.

"He's left his cloak," she muttered, placing it with her stuff. "I suppose I'll be responsible for that too."

Louisa, too tired to inquire, waited for Lily to vent her frustration. Eventually, she turned to her with red cheeks. Even though Lily was angry, it always came across in the kindest, most genuine way possible.

"James can't come on our patrol tonight," she complained. "He has an assignment he has to finish, which was due this morning."

Louisa laughed. "That isn't surprising."

"He has one responsibility and even that seems to be too overwhelming."

"It's a lonely night ahead for you," Louisa said, getting ready to leave.

"Actually," Lily offered, "I was wondering if you might want to come with me."

"Uh…"

"It's really only an hour or two after dinner," she pleaded. "It's just to make sure all the students are back in their dorms. It'll be fun!"

"Lily, I…I'm really tired."

"It's alright, I understand…"

Louisa exhaled with a weary smile. "Fine, I'll come along."

"Really? Brilliant! Thank you." Lily gave her a quick, tight hug. "I'll meet you after dinner in the great hall and we can go from there."

She collected the remainder of her things, wrapped James' forgotten cloak around her arm and dashed out of the classroom. Louisa exited a moment later, heading straight for the Hufflepuff common room to have a nap.

…

At dinner, Louisa sat opposite an incredibly hungover Will and disturbingly giddy Valeria. Will grimaced at every smell on the table, bypassing all food for a big goblet of water which he refilled every couple of minutes. Valeria, in between bites, glanced over at the Gryffindor table, unable to conceal her pleasure at yesterday's snogging session.

Louisa followed her friend's eye line to Tobias Wilburn, who was biting on a chicken drumstick with fervour. Quite noticeably, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter were all absent from the Gryffindor table. Had they all forgotten to hand in the same assignment? It wasn't likely – Remus was reasonably studious, and Peter, while not the brightest student in the year group, did try hard to turn in all work on time.

"Lou," Will said, trying catch her attention. "Lou!"

She looked back to her friend. "Yes?"

He nodded to the hall entrance. Lou turned, spotting Lily who was waving anxiously towards her. She looked at her watch.

"Dinner hasn't even finished," she commented. "Why is she so eager to start patrol?"

She rose from her place and made her way to Lily, waving to Will and Valeria who barely noticed her departure.

When she reached the entrance, Lily grabbed Lou's arm and pulled her out of the hall.

"Lily!" Lou cried, tripping along behind. "Lily, stop!"

"Sorry," she apologised, slowing and turning to face her friend. "Sorry, I just, I have to show you something."

They moved to a stone bench around the corner where Lily laid out a large piece of parchment with many creases and folds. On it, to Lou's amazement, was an intricately detailed map of the Hogwarts grounds, including a meticulous representation of the castle interior. Even more interestingly, the map was covered in moving footprints, labelled as every student and staff member at Hogwarts.

"What is this?" Louisa asked, turning it over.

On the front, she found her answer. It read: _Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs are proud to present __**The Marauder's Map.**_

She looked at Lily. "As in Remus, Peter, Sirius and James?"

Lily was biting her nails, nodding. She flipped the map back over, scanning it intently.

"I was asking Professor Flitwick about certain charms designed to hide and reveal information in books, paintings, engravings and…on parchment. I asked him to demonstrate for me but we were in the hallway so the only thing he could demonstrate on was a blank piece of parchment that I found in James' cloak and…well…"

"Wow…"

"But look!" Lily said, pointing at a detail of the outside courtyard. Louisa focused her eyes. She could see the moving labels of Sirius, James and Peter moving outside of the castle.

"Is this accurate?" Louisa clarified. She moved her finger along the map and found herself and Lily matched correctly to their actual location. "I thought James had an unfinished assignment?"

"Clearly he needed an excuse to get up to mischief with his friends," Lily surmised.

"Where are they going?" Louisa wondered, watching their labels move.

"Is that…Remus?" Lily whispered.

Louisa followed her finger all the way to the shrieking shack at the edge of Hogsmeade.

"This is ridiculous," Louisa stated, standing. "And really dangerous. So the other three must be joining him there?"

"There's a secret pathway to the shack from the whomping willow," Lily observed. "It must be underground."

"We need to tell one of the teachers," Louisa suggested.

"Wait," Lily grabbed her arm, caught in a moment of consideration. "I don't want to get them into trouble."

"Neither do I," Louisa said, "but what else are we supposed to do?"

"Follow them," Lily said. "And make them come back."

"Lily!"

"We can be back before dinner finishes if we run," she insisted. "We might even catch up to them before they reach the shack."

"You're head girl, Lily!"

"Please, Lou."

Louisa sighed, staring at the map.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?"


	7. The First Snow

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? – J. B. Priestly

…..

A wide, silvery full moon rose slowly over Hogwarts. It cast a peculiar glow across the grounds, the light devoid of any warmth or substance. Although this night was noticeably brighter than the one before, the moon failed to illuminate the small but very significant movements of two students running along an overgrown path towards a notoriously dangerous tree.

Louisa held her wand in front of her body; its tip just bright enough to reveal fragments of the uneven terrain she was stumbling upon. In front of her was Lily, with the Marauder's Map hugged tightly to her chest. Every so often she would glance down at it with her own illuminated wand before hopelessly peering out into the encircling darkness.

As if simultaneously appearing as a beacon of hope and a foreshadowing of precarious things to come, the whomping willow came into view as they hiked along the forgotten path.

"Bugger it," Lily exclaimed, pausing as they reached the top of the hill. "They've gone into the tunnel."

"Now what?" Louisa asked, trying to catch her breath.

"We go in after them," Lily said, making for the tree.

"Lily – wait!" Louisa cried, pulling her back by the hood of her cloak. "For goodness sake, don't just go walking into the whomping willow."

"But it's completely docile!"

"Because we aren't within its reach. A few more steps and we'll be thrashed into the ground."

Lily turned, taking Louisa's hand. "If the boys have gone through, then they must have put some kind of spell on it."

"Why don't we just wait here for them? How long can they possibly mess around down there for?"

Lily let out a small laugh. "You are infinitely lucky that your dorm is not opposite theirs. Come on, Lou, we have to try!"

"Lily, they've clearly been doing this for a long time," she rationalised, pointing to the map. "Who knows how old this thing is! Why don't you confront James about it tomorrow?"

"James has a way of talking himself out of trouble after he's caused it," she insisted, pulling Louisa along. "If we catch them in the middle of their…ridiculous club meeting then James – no – all of them will finally have to shape up."

The strong, wiry branches of the willow creaked and swayed as if in a lulling stupor. Louisa tensed as they moved to the stalk, unable to tear her eyes from the multitude of threatening limbs above them. She ran through healing spells in her mind that would provide some sort of relief or protection from the deep cuts, colossal bruising and shattered bones they were inevitably going to sustain. It seemed, however, that Lily's assumption was correct; the tree had been miraculously subdued, but by which spell, Louisa could not think.

Lily crouched at the base of the tree, the light from her wand revealing a concealed opening. She brushed away the foliage around it and stuck her wand in further, showing a narrow, curved path carving its way through a tunnel.

"Right," Lily muttered, positioning herself to slide down. "I'll go first."

She disappeared into the dark hole, but Louisa could hear her shuffling around at the bottom.

"You can stand up down here," she called from within.

Louisa took one last look back at Hogwarts, in all its brilliant, candlelit glory, before jumping in. She slid along a dirt path for a moment before coming to a stop at Lily's feet who pulled her up by the shoulders and brushed the dirt away from her robes.

"Alright?"

"I will be once we stop breaking every rule this school has implemented," she said, giving a weak laugh.

"I promise I don't normally behave like this," Lily assured as they walked along, wands braced in front of them. "But, well, James…"

"…is important to you." Louisa finished her sentence.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

They continued along through the tunnel, stumbling over dips in the ground and swatting away hanging roots from the earth above. As they neared the end, they found that the tunnel abruptly terminated in a wall of soil where a set of rotting wooden steps led up to a trap door. What was above the door, they suspected, was most likely the bottom floor of the shrieking shack. Together, they climbed the steps and hoisted it open with a mighty shove.

They poked their heads through cautiously, looking around. They found themselves in a dark, musty cellar where another rotting staircase led to the main house above. They climbed through, their hands dirtying from the damp, stone floor.

"Why would anyone want to come in here?" Lily asked, waving her wand over the space.

"Lumos Maxima," Louisa uttered.

A blinding flash of light filled the cellar. Louisa circled the room, increasingly intimidated by what she saw: the walls, made of reinforced brick, bore large scratch marks all along them, and there was old, discarded furniture piled in a corner that looked as if it had been smashed and torn apart with some kind of instrument. _Something did not feel right._

"Lily, listen," Louisa said, pointing to the floor above them. They both ceased their movements.

There was an alarming amount of movement occurring somewhere in the shack. Where there should have been the voices and laughter of four schoolboys, instead, they could only hear loud crashes and faint, but distinct growling. The girls looked at each other. Lily pulled out the map and examined it, confused.

"It says that they're in here," she whispered, walking over to Louisa. The markers of the four boys all moved around the confines of the shack outline. Dust and soot filtered down from the floor above them, settling on the parchment. They looked up. Something loud and heavy was standing right on top of them.

After a moment of dead silence, in which neither girl dared to breathe, an ear-splitting howl pierced through the structure. Lily shoved the map back into her cloak and they dashed to the trap door, trying to pull it open. It was jammed.

From the doorway at the top of the stairs, a monstrous figure appeared. It was a wolf-like creature, only much larger and with a shorter snout. Its form was somewhat skeletal but sinewy, and its limbs impressively long. The most distinguishing and terrifying feature of all was its eyes, which emitted a faint glow, but were unmistakably human. Louisa knew within a mere second of laying eyes upon this thing that it was one of the most feared magical creatures known to the wizarding world - it was a Werewolf.

The girls froze, caught in its penetrating gaze. On all fours, it descended the rotting staircase snarling and unflinching, its intention very clear. Louisa could not be sure if it was Lily who was so violently shaking next to her, or if she herself was trembling so much that she was affecting her friend. She reached into her pocket slowly, curling her fingers around her wand. The creature moved to strike them. It pushed up onto its hind legs and stretched its reach wide to swing down. Just as Louisa pulled her wand out, a large, black dog launched itself onto the werewolf from behind. They toppled over, the black dog struggling to pin the werewolf to the ground. They rolled towards Louisa and Lily, who dove to the side and away from the trap door.

A great stag appeared at the top of the stairs. It bypassed Louisa and Lily with a confused glance before thrusting its antlers at the werewolf, fastening it to the wall. The black dog scrambled to its feet and turned towards the girls. It bounded towards them, paralysing Louisa with its startling, and oddly familiar, grey eyes. Lily pulled Louisa by the arm and they sprinted up the staircase and into the shabby corridor of the shack. It seemed to lean on an angle, disorienting them as they searched for an exit.

The black dog caught up to them, its teeth latching on to the back of Louisa's robes. It pulled with immense strength, trying to drag her back to the cellar.

"Lou!" Lily cried, grabbing onto her friend. With her other hand free, she attempted to repel the dog with her wand, shooting spells that it dodged with some difficulty.

Louisa's robes tore and the girls were thrown forward into the living room. A jutting nail from the doorframe sunk into Louisa's arm as they fell, tearing a large gash into her skin. She cried out, falling to the ground.

"Oh my goodness, Lou," Lily stuttered, crouching next to her. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry."

Louisa shook her head, unable to speak and almost blinded by the pain. "No...it's...not," she uttered, pressing on the wound with her robes. She looked up at her friend and gasped, "Lily!"

The werewolf leapt into the room and swiped at Lily, knocking her into the corner of a ruined armchair. Her head impacted against a blunt wooden corner and she fell unconscious instantly. It rounded on Louisa, teeth bared and claws flexing. She fumbled around for her wand, dizzy from her wound. A little rat scuttled past with her wand in its mouth, dropping it in front of her before scurrying off under the furniture.

The stag appeared once more, launching itself into the werewolf. It threw the beast into the next room before looking desperately at the unconscious Lily. The black dog jumped across the armchair and bit into the top of Lily's jumper. It dragged her out of the room and back down the corridor.

"Lily!" Louisa cried, wobbling to her feet. She stumbled after the dog, which was moving at a remarkable pace considering it was pulling a fully-grown human being. Down in the cellar, it stopped next to the trap door, looking up at Louisa. It whined, pawing at the door. The dog did not appear to be an aggressor as she once thought. She could hear the stag and the werewolf thrashing around close by. She pulled her wand out and tried to point it at the door, swaying a little. She swallowed and focused with all of her strength.

"Confringo," she choked, and the door exploded, chunks of wood flying in all directions.

Louisa jumped down first, pulling Lily down next with her uninjured arm. Lily's unconscious body fell onto her and they toppled into the dirt. The dog leapt down after them. It pulled Lily away from Louisa and back down the tunnel towards the whomping willow. Louisa followed warily, looking back constantly to make sure the werewolf was not giving chase.

The first snow of the season was falling through the night as Louisa climbed her way out from beneath the tree. The air was sharp, the grass crisp beneath her feet. She knelt beside Lily, who began to stir. She looked to the dog that watched her intently, its grey eyes boring into hers. It had not escaped without injury. There was a small amount of blood dripping from one side, and several shallow gashes ran over its head. A strange, bewildering thought crossed her mind; a thought which she knew to be impossible, and yet, there it was.

Flimsy snowflakes settled over her hair and eyelashes as she fished for the map in Lily's cloak. She unfolded it, hands shaking, and laid it on the grass. Her eyes glazed over the parchment before settling on a name. It was the name of a boy she had come to grow immeasurable feelings for, who irritated and frustrated her like no other and whom she had quite possibly and very unexpectedly fallen in love with. It was the name of a boy who stood opposite her as the first snow fell and melted into the ground beneath them. Louisa looked up from the map and into those grey eyes, searching.

"Sirius?"

Slowly, in one fluid movement, the large, black dog transformed into a disheveled, shaggy haired seventeen-year-old boy. Sirius stood before her, breathing heavily, his expression full of confusion, anger and guilt. Louisa blinked, her body going rigid with shock. She swallowed, trying to find her words. Instead, she reached for her wand, struggling to remember a healing spell for Lily's concussion, though she could not keep a firm grip.

"Lou?"

"We'll be ok…"

"Please look at me."

"I'll get Madame Pomfrey."

She tried to stand, swaying. Sirius caught her from behind, his arms holding onto her tightly. She let him.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry," he kept murmuring into her ear. "I don't understand how you…where did you find the map…"

"The werewolf," Louisa stammered, "I…I just need a moment…"

Sirius lowered himself down to the ground with Louisa until they were both kneeling. He moved around to look at her, cupping her face with both of his hands.

"Listen to me," he said gently, suppressing a very apparent anxiety, "I'm an unregistered Animagus. So are James and Peter. And Remus…well, you understand now. But no one knows, Lou. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey are the only people who know about Remus. But even they're unaware of everything else."

Louisa nodded, trying to comprehend all that he was revealing.

Sirius continued, "I have no right to ask this of you, and you are far more honourable than I could ever hope to be, but please-"

"-I promise," Louisa said, "I'll tell no one."

"I will explain everything to you tomorrow," he swore, "but right now I have to get back."

"You can let go," she insisted, trying to pry his hands from her face.

"Any excuse," he teased quietly. He glanced down at the horrendous gash in her arm, frowning. "This should never have happened."

Next to them, Lily groaned. Louisa reached for wand before looking back at Sirius. "Go," she said.

He stood reluctantly, moving away to transform.

"Sirius," she called. He paused, facing her. " 'The things we hide are the things most worth protecting.' "

He smiled at her, eyes crinkling every so slightly. Once his body had slowly morphed back into the black dog, he shook and ruffled his fur and bounded back towards the whomping willow.

Louisa took a deep breath and raised her wand to the sky. "Periculum!" she cried, sending a multitude of red sparks upwards where they hovered and flashed brilliantly.

Lily tried to sit up, holding a hand to her temple.

"Hold tight," Louisa reassured her as she wrapped her robes around her wound, "We're safe now."

…..

In the hospital wing, Louisa lay on her side, injured but treated arm outstretched to Lily. Lily squeezed her hand tightly, a stream of tears flowing out both corners of her eyes and down onto the feathery pillow beneath her head.

Lily had awoken baffled and terrified just as the teachers had placed her in the care of Madame Pomfrey. While she was being comforted and treated, Louisa had endured a calm, but very firm interrogation from Dumbledore and McGonagall as to why two seemingly responsible seventh years could have possibly ended up outside the castle grounds at night. Louisa did her best to deflect any questions concerning _other students_ and even managed to stash the Marauder's Map inside some Glittering Wood-moss before help arrived. She lied her way through a vague story about Lily and Louisa believing they had seen some first years sneaking out of the castle, and in an attempt to investigate, they had taken a violent tumble through the darkness. The explanation was feasible enough, but Louisa knew that it had not fooled either teacher. Their proximity to the whomping willow and Lily's terror upon awakening was evidence enough that they had seen _something_. And so Louisa, Dumbledore and McGonagall found themselves at an impasse, with the teachers having no choice but to resign their interrogation for the night.

"It's all my fault," Lily sniffed, looking up at the ceiling, "I'm so sorry, Lou."

"Lily…there was no way you nor I could have possibly known…"

She paused, unsure whether to continue. How much had Lily actually come to understand given how long she had been unconscious for? Louisa herself was still trying to grasp all she had seen and learned. Saying it out loud meant that she was certain, but witnessing something truly terrifying and extraordinary did not always mean that one could comprehend it.

"How much do you remember?" She asked, hesitantly.

Lily let out a tired laugh. "I didn't hit my head quite that hard," she confided, "There was a werewolf in the shack and I led us right to him."

"Him?"

"To Remus."

"Ah…"

"Something clicked in my mind the moment I saw him tonight," she said, "His name was on the map, a full moon was in the sky, and after years of watching him become sick at the same time every month…well, it all fell into place. I can't imagine what he must go through every time." Letting go of Louisa's hand, she brought her fingers to her face, wiping her tears. She rolled onto her side carefully to face Louisa. "But why did you lie to McGonagall and Dumbledore?"

"You heard that?"

"Most of it. Surely they would both be aware of Remus' condition already. And they ought to know about the wild animals inhabiting the shack."

"Yes, well," Louisa started, trying to think of a clever way around her questioning.

"And where were the boys? Perhaps they were flying around on broomsticks above us?"

Louisa was genuinely astounded that Lily had not yet realized the connection, but then again, Louisa couldn't quite believe it herself. It did make sense that Sirius' Animagus form would be a big, black dog, however. She recalled several years ago, in Defence Against the Dark Arts, how terribly frustrating her first lesson in conjuring a patronus had been. And while she was on the brink of witnessing her charm take its true, animal form, Sirius' big, shaggy dog had come bounding through hers, dissipating it into the air around her.

Lily tried to sit up, peering over at Louisa. "You're hiding something," she pried, "You have that look in your eyes."

Louisa shook her head insistently. She had made a promise to Sirius that she would not tell a soul, and while it was probably justifiable that Lily knew the truth too, it had to come from one of the boys.

"I think we should wait," she said, carefully choosing her words, "Until we see the boys. I'm sure they'll want to speak for themselves."

Lily looked concerned, but said nothing more on the matter.

After an hour so, when Lily had fallen asleep, Louisa stepped out of bed and asked Madame Pomfrey to escort her back to the Hufflepuff common room. With the help of modern magical medicine, her arm had healed almost completely. She was finding it near impossible to fall asleep in the wide-open hospital wing and sought a comfort that only her dormitory would be able to provide. Whenever something traumatic or eventful had occurred in Louisa's life, she had always found it easier to hide herself away and focus on coping alone. She knew deep down that this was an exceptionally unhealthy way of dealing with her problems, but it had always been instilled into her that her problems were her own, and no one else's to bear. As she crawled into her bed, taking care not to wake the other seventh years, she felt as though the warmth she was experiencing was not from her feathery quilt or thick sheets, but from the memory of Sirius holding her body against his own.


	8. A Guarded Tongue

Louisa rose early the following morning after a shockingly sleepless night and determined herself to visit Lily before breakfast. As quietly as she could, she slipped into her school uniform and pulled her hair into a messy plait, taking care to hop over the particularly creaky floorboards and avoid the rickety pieces of furniture.

Valeria stirred in her bed, flinging her arm over the side where she knocked a framed photo of the Montrose Magpies to the floor. The frame clattered loudly and she shot up, half-awake and dazed. She squinted at Louisa.

"Where are you going?"

Louisa finished tying her shoelaces and reached for her scarf. "Just going to visit Lily in the hospital wing," she whispered, creeping to the doorway, "She fell and hurt herself on patrol last night."

"Hope she's alright," Valeria mumbled, flopping back into her bed.

Louisa closed the door gently behind her and hurried through the common room. There was something captivating about early mornings; it was a sort of solace she found in the quiet of the world around her, where every person left their imprint from the night before in the form of disorderly furniture, forgotten possessions and burnt out firewood. It was as if she were witnessing the last living memory of the previous day before the world awoke to start again.

….

She climbed her way through to the hallway outside, taking care to seal the entrance before setting off for the hospital wing. The hallway was stacked with barrels and crates either side as usual and she could hear the elves busily assembling everything in the kitchens for breakfast, the smells utterly delightful as they wafted past her. Curiously, there was one out of place element to this all too familiar scene. A set of legs lay sprawled on the floor, poking out from behind several barrels. She approached the legs, confused, and found that they belonged to an extremely messy and deeply asleep Sirius Black. He was sitting upright, arms folded and head hanging heavily to one side. His shaggy black locks hung across his face where they fluttered in time with his breathing.

"Sirius," she whispered, looking around, "Sirius, wake up!"

How long had he been down there; surely not since the end of their dangerous escapades the night before? She crouched down next to him, shaking his leg.

His eyes slowly opened, his head rolling back into an upright position. He looked around for a moment, confused, before his sleepy gaze settled on Louisa.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he said.

"Speak for yourself," she noted, eyes trailing over his heavy eyes and shabby uniform. "How long have you been out here?"

He rubbed his face then ran his hands back through his hair, yawning. "Sunrise, I suppose."

His expression was unusually thoughtful, and perhaps a little solemn. He reached across to her arm, very gently rolling her sleeve up to her elbow. A long scar was revealed; it was a vivid reminder of the secret they now carried between them. He sighed, visibly discontent. She pulled her arm away, rolling her sleeve back down to her wrist.

"Less gruesome than you were expecting?" she mused, standing upright.

"Hang on," he said, standing also, "it's my job to make fun of terrible situations."

They hovered around each other. For once, both were at a loss on how to communicate. Louisa could see that Sirius was troubled, but it was also apparent that he was trying very hard not to seem so.

"How did you know I'd be down here?"

Sirius pulled the Marauder's Map from his back pocket. "The same way you found us."

"But I hid it last night..."

"Luckily I have a keen sense of smell," he said, tucking the map back into his pocket, "once a month at least, anyway."

Louisa laughed sheepishly, looking around. Sirius leaned in a little, forcing her to keep eye contact with him. He held her gaze for sometime, trying to discern what was really on her mind. After a while, he smiled in the way that made his eyes crinkle. She couldn't help but return his smile, if only for a second. She quickly forced her face back into a passive expression, clearing her throat.

"So...you're the big, black, shaggy dog."

"Yes I am."

"Which means James is..."

"The Stag."

"And Peter?"

"The little rat you probably wouldn't have noticed."

"Actually, I think he found my wand when I was knocked to the ground."

Sirius looked impressed. "He normally hides once we're in the shack," he admitted. "There isn't too much a rat can do to keep a Werewolf at bay."

"How is Remus this morning?"

"The day after the transformation is just as bad as the day before," he explained, "but I think - well, that part anyway - he's used to it. He won't forgive himself for what happened to you and Lily."

Louisa raised her eyebrows. "He...remembered that?"

"Vividly," he assured. "Which is the hardest part, in many ways. He knew exactly what he was doing, but he had no ability to stop himself."

An immense sadness filled Louisa. She folded her arms, brow furrowing. "I would think that every part of that existence would be the hardest."

"But made infinitely more bearable with his friends by his side," he said, "...just in animal form, so no one is ripped to shreds."

Sirius took a long moment to smile at Louisa again.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Smiling at me."

Sirius chuckled. "I'm just surprised you didn't run away screaming when you saw me."

"Well, if you recall, I did last night…"

"You could have sent an angry mob after me."

"Unlikely," she countered, "You're not that special."

"Nothing to write home about?"

"Dear Mum and Dad," she started, "don't be alarmed but last night I was almost killed by a Werewolf on school grounds. As it turns out, there's a few unregistered Animagus' running around too…"

"Animagi," he corrected, "the plural is Animagi."

"So far from the point," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Please," he teased, "if you're going to demonise me, correct grammar is essential."

Louisa repressed a grin, turning on her heel and walking away down the corridor.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business," she replied.

"You see," he called after her, "this is when the map becomes quite useful."

…..

Upon entering the hospital wing, Louisa and Sirius found Peter sprawled across the bottom of Lily's bed, sound asleep. Lily was wrapped in a very tight embrace with James, and neither had noticed their friends enter. In the bed next door, Remus slept deeply, his face almost entirely covered with the bed sheets.

Louisa made a noise of recognition upon realising that the embrace was more of a lengthy snogging session. She ceased her approach, yanking on the back of Sirius' shirt to make him stop also. He winked at her before continuing on towards the bed.

"Room for a couple more?" he asked.

Lily and James broke apart, highly flushed and a little embarrassed. James scratched his head, his spectacles sitting crookedly on his nose. Lily let out a small laugh, shrugging.

Sirius looked at a pretend watch on his wrist. "Well, it's only taken you six years, three months, four days and six-and-a-half hours to get here."

"Not sure if this counts, though," James admitted, looking at Lily. "You are under the influence of some heavy healing spells."

The comment was meant as a joke, but there was an underlying insecurity in his voice that Louisa found rather sweet. He had been madly in love with Lily for years, and while she clearly returned his sentiments, there was a very apparent disbelief to his demeanour. She looked at Lily who expressed nothing but open adoration for the boy opposite.

"I think last night's events hurried me on a little," she confessed, reaching across to fix James' glasses. "And healing spells have nothing to with it. My mind has never been clearer."

James smiled goofily. Sirius stood next to his best friend, ruffling his already messy hair.

"The shape-shifting can be uncontrollable," he warned Lily. "Who knows what position you'll be in when he turns into a Stag."

"Yeah, good one," James said, pushing his friend, laughing. Lily rolled her eyes, looking up at Louisa. A look of acknowledgment passed between them. They were both now part of an incredibly delicate secret which, in a small way, was just as much their responsibility to protect.

"Alright, Lou?" James enquired.

She was a little taken aback. When had she become so familiar with this group of Gryffindors? There was so much about them that she had misunderstood or not realised, and the more time she spent with them, the more pleased she became.

"Swell," she replied with a yawn, stretching her arms up over her head. Her sleeve fell back to her elbow, revealing her scar.

"Wow, those leaves really did the trick," James noted to Sirius.

"Pardon?" Louisa interjected, confused.

"Didn't Padfoot give you those leaves for your wound?"

She looked to Sirius who grinned sheepishly. He pulled a jar of comfrey leaves from his pocket and shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Thought you might need them."

He scratched the spot where Louisa had healed his cut after punching him in the face.

"Anyway," he said, trying to change the subject.

Louisa grinned at his naïve thoughtfulness. "Thank you," she said, almost too quietly. Suddenly, she laughed. They all looked to her curiously.

"Well, that's the last time I steal from the greenhouses for you," Sirius stated, tucking the leaves back into his pocket.

"No, no," she said apologetically, "It's not that. It's just – I finally understand your nicknames."

The others joined in her laughter, breaking the awkward tension. Peter shot up abruptly, his slumber coming to a manic end. He looked around, his hair pointing upwards erratically.

"What?" he said, rubbing his face.

"It's hard to believe you slept through their entire snogging session," Sirius said, signalling to James and Lily.

"We're not all perverts like you, Sirius," Louisa commented.

"It's just my superior senses," he explained, "It can't be helped."

"More like selective senses," she corrected.

James laughed. "You've met your match, Padfoot."

Louisa tried to find a safe spot for her eyes to rest. Between Lily's enquiring expression, James' wilful glances and Sirius' curious gaze, the only person she could stare at was Peter, who looked around befuddled and half asleep. She gave him a pitying pat on the back, which sent a maddening blush into his cheeks.

"Careful," Sirius warned, "he's only been touched once by a woman before and that was his mother."

Peter squirmed with embarrassment. "Shut up, Padfoot."

Everyone laughed, causing Remus to stir. He rolled away from their noise, bringing the sheets slightly higher across his face.

"I think we need to let Remus sleep," Lily suggested, resting back against her bedframe. "We can talk more when he wakes up."

James reached across to Lily and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Sirius grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him away towards the exit.

"Time to eat food, not Evans' face," he goaded.

"Feel better Lily," Peter said, grinning.

Louisa nodded knowingly at Lily who just shrugged.

"I've run out of excuses," she said.

"I can see that."

"You will too."

Louisa narrowed her eyes. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do."

Louisa retreated to the exit, waving. "How about we work on our excuses for last night? We're going to end up in Dumbledore's office at some point. I can feel it."

…..

Louisa caught up to Sirius, James and Peter at the top of the staircase. They made their way down to breakfast together, expertly pretending that nothing life-endangering had occurred the night before. She could feel Sirius glancing at her constantly, and when she raised her eyes to meet his, she found him indiscernible. He wore an expression she had never seen before; it was as if he were troubled, but pleased about it. Considering Sirius almost always presented as being unbothered, Louisa reasoned that it was simply she personally who had not witnessed him in this way, and not that he never appeared like so.

When they reached the entrance to the great hall, James and Peter made straight for the Gryffindor table, eager to quell their anxieties with mountains of good food. Sirius gave her one last glance.

"What is it?" Louisa asked in exasperation. "Why are you doing that?"

Sirius smiled and went to speak. Allegra, who threw her arms around his shoulders from behind, cut him off. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, ignoring Louisa.

"Haven't seen you in a while," she complained. "Did you finish your assignment last night?"

Sirius looked at Louisa. "Could have killed me," he joked.

Louisa rolled her eyes. She waved to Sirius, moving past to the Hufflepuff table.

"See you later," Sirius said as she departed.

She nodded in reply, feeling oddly uncomfortable. She made her way to Valeria and Will who were sitting towards the front. As she sat next to her friends, she noticed Dumbledore peering curiously at her over his half-moon spectacles.

"Why are we sitting next to the teachers?" she asked, pouring herself a goblet of juice.

Valeria raised her eyebrows. "Well, why don't you aim to get here early and snatch a better seat?"

Louisa raised her arms in surrender. "Alright, fair enough."

"How's Lily? Val told me she hurt herself last night?"

"Fine, fine," Louisa muttered through her goblet.

Valeria was munching furiously on a piece of toast, glaring over at the Gryffindor table. Halfway through chewing, she swiped her own goblet from the table and downed the contents in several large gulps.

"Uh, Val?"

"What?"

"Everything ok?"

"Tobias and I had an argument," she replied, stabbing her fork into a sausage, "Bloody git."

"When did this happen?"

Will chimed in, "Five minutes ago."

"Oh," Louisa said, trying to gauge her friend's level of stability, "do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Ok then."

Will and Louisa shrugged at each other, eating their own breakfast.

A deafening shriek filled the hall. Louisa jumped a little, dropping her cutlery onto the table. Every student turned around, searching for the source of the noise. Over at the Ravenclaw table, Allegra was having what appeared to be an angry fit. She was standing over Sirius who tried to calm her to no avail. She screeched several nonsensical insults before throwing a pitcher of water in his face. She stormed out of the hall with a couple of friends in tow. Sirius, hair dripping, moved over to the Gryffindor table where James was rolling around in a fit of laughter. Sirius looked incredulous.

"Now that's a break up," Will mused, returning to his breakfast.

"Maybe just an argument?" Louisa suggested, a strange nervousness overcoming her.

"Not likely," Will disagreed, "That was a statement, a declaration even, of loathing. Like when you punched him in the face."

Louisa chuckled uneasily. "I don't think it was loathing. I don't hate him."

"Well, it was a strong declaration of something."

"Alright, next subject," Louisa snapped. She continued to eat breakfast in silence.

Will looked between his two best friends. "Why is everyone so touchy today?"

…..

In the biting, icy November morning, Louisa's Muggle Studies class stood huddled together on the expansive, flat earth beside the Black Lake. Professor Adamina Waldroup, a slim, angular woman in her forties with a pageboy haircut and propensity for huge earrings, stood in front of the students. Louisa enjoyed her as a teacher; she maintained a very relaxed demeanour and open-mind towards education. A muggle would likely call her a hippie without the questionable hygiene; the average witch or wizard would not describe her dissimilarly.

Next to Louisa stood Sirius, who had positioned himself as far away as possible from a positively fuming Allegra. Considering they were sharing their first two classes of the day together, his break-up timing had been extraordinarily terrible.

"Right-o," Professor Waldroup began, waving her class to attention, "let's get started. I understand it's cold out here so huddle up nice and close. We're moving into the practical applications part of our curriculum today. We've spent a lot of time talking, so now it's time to start doing – otherwise you'll never truly learn!"

She motioned behind her to where a blindingly red, four-door Morris Marina car was parked. "There's nothing more practical than driving a motor vehicle…manually!"

"A what vehicle?" called out one of the students.

Professor Waldroup laughed. "A car. A good, old-fashioned muggle buzz-box – no magical assistance and no anti-gravitational activity."

The students were astounded. So few of them could understand the concept of being inside a form of muggle transportation, especially one that they themselves had to manage without magic.

"So, we'll take turns in groups. One of you will sit in the driver's seat; I'll be in the front passenger seat, and the other two in the back. Let's see what happens."

Louisa was slightly gobsmacked. Professor Waldroup was being unusually comfortable and carefree. She wondered how much of this lesson had been truly approved by the school, and how much she had improvised the night before, if not in the moment.

"Well, who wants to group up first?"

The students hesitated; the thought of doing something so mundane without magic was apparently more alarming than the thought of staying out in the freezing weather.

Louisa was eager enough. She had, in fact, been taught to drive at home during the holidays. "I will, Professor."

Professor Waldroup winked. "Great, who else?"

Sirius nudged Louisa. "Me too, Professor."

"Oh God," Louisa muttered.

"One more person? Anyone?"

The Professor scanned the class, looking for a sign of weakness. She caught Allegra staring down Sirius.

"Allegra, you can be in this first group too."

All three looked to their teacher in horror. Louisa shuddered at the thought of being trapped in a car with that much tension. She raised her hand.

"Actually, I learned to drive in the holidays, Professor," she stated insistently, "I can probably sit this one out."

"No, no," Waldroup countered, "Your experience will be a positive influence."

"Ah, Professor," Sirius interjected, "I've actually been temporarily blinded from when Louisa punched me in the face..."

"You can sit in the back then."

The three students reluctantly followed their teacher towards the car. She handed Allegra the keys and instructed her to climb into the driver's seat. Louisa and Sirius looked at each other, uneasy.

When all four were settled inside, their seatbelts strapped across their bodies and the basic interior functions explained, Waldroup instructed Allegra to turn the engine on. The car rumbled to life, emitting an enormous amount of fumes from the exhaust pipe.

Waldroup grinned. "Listen to that engine purr!"

"Me-ow," Sirius enunciated.

Louisa smacked his leg. Allegra watched them with a poisonous glare through the front mirror.

"Now Allegra," Waldroup instructed, "You're going to keep your left foot on the clutch – no the other pedal – yes that's right, and while your foot is on the clutch we're going to release the parking brake – yes, good, good."

Sirius was pressing his face against the window in mock horror, entertaining the class outside. Allegra noticed this instantly and set off with the car without any further instruction from Waldroup.

"Have you done this before, Allegra?" Waldroup asked, surprised.

Allegra ignored her, steering erratically and picking up speed as she turned downhill towards the lake. Louisa watched on in growing horror.

"I think this is a bit fast," Louisa asserted, bracing herself in the seat.

"Perhaps you ought to slow down a little, Allegra?"

"Allegra, we're heading towards the lake," Sirius pointed out, "You should probably turn – or stop – you know what, stopping is a better idea."

"How could you break up with me?" Allegra started, the car swerving with her angry movements. "I thought we had something special. We were made for each other!"

"What were we – really?" Sirius reasoned, "To be honest, I think we were using each other."

Waldroup's voice cracked nervously. "Stop now," she insisted, eyes tearing between her maddened student and the lake now imminently in front of them.

"Allegra, stop!" Louisa shouted.

"Is it because of her?" Allegra questioned, shooting daggers at Louisa. "I always knew. And when she interrupted us in the library…"

"Wow, Professor, sorry you have to hear this," Sirius apologised.

This was it, Louisa thought, they were going to drive straight into the lake. In a moment of desperation, she unclipped her seatbelt and pushed open the door on her side. Sirius noticed her quick thinking and followed suit.

"What are you two doing?" Waldroup asked, realising she had lost complete control of her students.

The entire event felt as thought it was occurring in slow motion. Just before the car hit the water, Louisa and Sirius dove out of their respective sides, rolling onto the damp grass. The engine made terrible, guttural noises as it became submerged in the icy lake. The class ran towards the scene, some students shocked, others thoroughly entertained.

Waldroup and Allegra emerged from the car, almost waist deep in the dark water. As they made it to the shore, they turned just in time to witness the destruction of the car by the Giant Squid. It dragged the vehicle down into the depths of the lake, never to be seen again.

"I think she tried to kill us, Professor," Sirius commented.

Allegra lurched at Sirius, but was held back by the struggling Professor.

"Right," she shouted, "class is dismissed. Everyone go back to the castle. This was a very bad idea. Allegra, we're going to have a profoundly long discussion with Professor Flitwick."

Allegra broke free of Waldroup's grip and ran after Sirius, who abandoned all of his possessions and fled towards the castle. Louisa and Waldroup watched after them, cringing.

"You and Sirius Black," Waldroup pondered, adjusting her robes, "I'd never have guessed."

"No!" Louisa corrected, turning to her teacher, "No. Certainly not."

Waldroup smiled to herself. "I see."

"I'm sorry about your car," Louisa said, looking back at the lake.

"Yes," the Professor nodded, "It is – was – an old friend's, actually. A fool for trusting me to begin with, honestly."

Louisa smiled. "But why did you start practical applications today? We weren't due to begin until after the Christmas holidays."

Waldroup sighed quietly. "It's a changing world out there, Louisa. I'm afraid being an expert on the Muggle World is less accepted than it used to be."

"What do you mean, Professor?"

She waved away Louisa's concern. "I thought I might get a head start on the really fun aspects of the class in case…well, in case I'm unable to return."

There was an unsettling amount of trepidation beneath Waldroup's nonchalant manner. She was genuinely terrified of something, and it didn't take Louisa more than a second to understand what it was. The face of the wizarding world was changing drastically, and people with strong muggle ties like Waldroup were being forced to consider how safe they were within it.

"You have a keen mind for muggle studies," Waldroup said, placing her hand on Louisa's shoulder. "But I must ask that you be careful about to whom you make that clear…out there and here at Hogwarts."

"I'll try, Professor."

"I don't mean to stifle the things you care about, Louisa," she explained, moving away to collect her belongings, "But I'd be saddened to see them become your demise."

But which was worse, Louisa contemplated as she left the Professor and headed for the castle, a life lived and ended, filled with the things one cared for the most? Or a long life lived in complete fear and emptiness?


	9. A Warm Smile and a Cold Little Heart

A heavy snow fell upon the sturdy village of Hogsmeade. Despite the weather, the inhabitants were determinedly going about their daily business, as were the masses of Hogwarts students who traipsed down to the wizarding town every weekend like their lives depended on it. After wandering aimlessly along the lowest border of the town, Louisa, Valeria and Will circled up and around, plodding back along the far end of the main street.

Several weeks had passed since Louisa's full moon encounter. She had miraculously managed to avoid any meetings with Dumbledore after her initial interrogation, but couldn't quell the feeling that his absence of presence was only postponing an inevitable conversation. Sirius had been remarkably elusive too, though that was being entirely attributed to Allegra viciously stalking the castle in search of him; and while Louisa might accuse him of being irresponsible, she had to admit that Allegra was beyond irrational. They were, after all, just two of an entire cohort of ridiculous teenagers trying to make the most of their final year at school before being thrust into the unknown. And yet, Louisa was uncertain as to whether she could dismiss the seriousness with which her peers fell in and out of relationships as quickly as she did before. James and Lily were finally together, a sense of permanency as strong as an unbreakable vow surrounding them; Valeria and Tobias, as unpredictable as their relationship was, were determined to make things work beyond the confines of Hogwarts; and just the other day she had witnessed two fourth years declaring their undying love for each other. Louisa knew in her heart that the reason she could no longer scorn the romances of others was because in doing so she would become a hypocrite.

She thought back to the night that she learned Remus' terrible secret, when she discovered the lengths human beings could go to help their friends. The feeling of Sirius holding her body against his lingered on her skin and the image of him transforming from beast to boy under the first snow fall of the year burned itself into her mind. It was, Louisa could readily admit to herself, when she realised that she loved him. Now, it was a matter of admitting it to everyone else, and most terrifyingly, him.

"Lou?" Will said, pulling her out of her reverie.

"Hm?"

"I asked if you had heard from Edie."

Louisa shook her head.

"Not at all," she sighed, looking around. "I don't know whether to keep telling myself that it's just a ridiculously long practical joke or not…"

Will and Valeria exchanged a worried glance. Louisa noticed and promptly changed the subject.

"This is great," she exclaimed, signalling to the ancient buildings either side of them, "I forgot about all of the quirky shops down this end."

"Fancy a wander in 'Sybella's Socks and Other Simple Garments'?" Will joked, "Or a little foray into 'Eideard and Effie's' for Scotland's largest selection of second-hand baskets?"

" _Only_ Scotland?" Louisa mused.

"It's a competitive business," he replied.

Valeria chuckled next to them, stretching her sore beating arm. "It's the perfect idea though isn't it," she expressed, "after all of your adventures are over, when you want a little more stability? Open up a little store filled with the things you love or have shaped you throughout your life!"

"So a shop filled with quidditch memorabilia in your case," Louisa teased.

Valeria scoffed, "I have more in my life than quidditch."

"So a shop full of quidditch memorabilia and pictures of Tobias?"

"Oh, bugger off."

Louisa grinned. She turned to Will. "How about it, Will? Can you see 'William Findlay's Rune Appraisals' taking off?"

He shrugged, laughing. "I'll probably be a lifelong ministry zombie," he confessed, "I'll be applying for entry level positions when they open next year."

"You can't sell your soul away before you've even left Hogwarts!" Valeria admonished, "Go and live while you're young!"

"Val, life doesn't stop just because you grow old," Louisa reminded her.

Will spoke his next words hesitantly. "I was left without my parents when I was twelve. My perception of my future and what I imagined for myself has changed _a lot_. And, well, I have to think practically about what's going to give me a sense of security…in all meanings of the word."

Louisa put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. "We'll keep you secure."

"I'll get you free tickets to all of my quidditch matches," Valeria insisted, "and Lou will give you free healing appointments."

"Wait a moment," Louisa stated, "I didn't say anything about becoming a healer."

"But you've wanted to for as long as I've known you!"

"Doesn't it seem all too easy? Is that really it? I'll just follow in the footsteps of practically every member of my family."

"Wasn't your great aunt a legilimens?"

"Yes, but we don't talk about her."

"Because she wasn't a healer?"

"Because she used to give lazy, false predictions of the future at exorbitant prices and eventually an angry mob showed up at our house almost exposing our magical status."

"Lou," Will interrupted, "you've found something you're passionate about _and_ good at. There's nothing wrong with that."

"We're fretting too much," Louisa reasoned, "and life is too unpredictable. Everything could change in an instant."

"Yeah," Valeria chuckled, "Will might end up taming dragons and you'll marry Sirius Black."

Louisa's eye twitched at Valeria's jest but she swallowed any response that might give an indication of her true feelings.

"Well, after all that, does anyone else fancy a butterbeer?" Louisa suggested, angling for The Three Broomsticks.

"No!" Valeria cried, blocking her path. "We have to get back for quidditch practice."

"We?"

"You're both coming to watch."

"But I thought Tobias – you know what, I can't keep track – let's go."

Valeria grabbed Louisa who in turn grabbed Will and they trudged their way along the slippery path back up to Hogwarts.

…..

Louisa and Will settled themselves in the front row of the stands, huddled together as the snow swirled around them. On the pitch below, Hufflepuff players began to assemble, looking around for their captain who was hurriedly dressing in the change rooms underneath.

Breathing hot air into her hands, Louisa spied Remus approaching them. He gave a friendly wave, a book tucked tightly against his chest.

"Coming to spy on us?" Louisa jested as he sat down next to them.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm coming to watch Gryffindor practice..."

On the pitch, the Gryffindor quidditch team emerged with James in the lead. The two teams met in the middle, utterly confused by each other's presence. A moment later, Valeria came barrelling from the change rooms, almost slipping on the icy grass. Louisa, Will and Remus looked at each other before climbing down from the stands to investigate.

"What are you doing here, Potter? We've had this practice scheduled for weeks," Valeria insisted.

James sighed, "So have we, Knutsford. The timetable was free when I checked, I promise."

"Well, this is bloody annoying," she replied.

Louisa looked across the pitch to where the last of the Slytherin players were packing away their gear. Their practice had finished several minutes before Hufflepuff's was due to start. They were mocking the conflicting teams from afar as they carried their equipment chest off into the change rooms.

"What's an afternoon quidditch practice without a little sabotage," Remus noted, nodding to the Slytherin players.

The two teams looked over to the fleeting players, groaning. Valeria threw her middle finger up at them, scowling.

James shook his head. "Smug bastards."

"There's no proof," Louisa reminded them. "Don't go throwing accusations…"

"Well, we're all here now," James said. "What are we going to do?"

Valeria looked directly at Tobias, who was hiding behind one of his Gryffindor teammates. She smirked, "Fancy a friendly game instead?"

James grinned. "How 'bout it?"

Both teams conceded to their captains; a friendly game was still valuable practice, though whether a game could ever truly be defined as friendly was a matter of opinion. Quidditch was a notoriously brutal competition regardless of how well intentioned or sportsmanlike the players were.

Valeria looked around frantically. She threw her head back and sighed, turning to Louisa and Will.

"What is it?"

"I left my bat in the change rooms," she complained, "Would you mind getting it for me? I have to rally the team."

"Typical," Louisa laughed, pulling Will along towards the edge of the pitch.

"I'll save you two a seat," Remus joked, referring to the desolate stands.

…..

Directly below the pitch sat an incredibly old and enduring grouping of change rooms dedicated to each of the four houses. At the base of a set of unpolished wooden steps was an enthusiastically designed corridor, the walls absolutely covered from floor to ceiling in colourful memorabilia, house plaques and team photographs. To the left, two doorways leading to the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff rooms and to the right, two that led to Ravenclaw and Slytherin's. It was generally expected that each team use their own designated rooms to change and store their training equipment, but Ravenclaw's was deemed the cleanest of the three, smelling the least like abandoned lunches and sweaty socks, making it the most favourable room by far.

Arriving at the first door on the left, Louisa and Will poked their heads around the room scouting out Valeria's belongings. It didn't take long to identify them. Across from the doorway sat a pile of wrinkly clothes and wet shoes. Atop the pile was a beautifully crafted quidditch bat with Valeria's initials carved into the handle. Will cradled the bat, attempting to tidy her belongings as best he could.

Louisa waited for Will in the hallway, eyes glazing over the portraits of students long since graduated. She too would become just like them next year - a simple memory and small fragment of the history of the school. The thought was both wistful and daunting.

Louisa turned her head towards the Slytherin change room; she could hear the faint sobbing of a student somewhere inside. She wandered over cautiously, poking her head through the doorway. The room was empty except for one lone figure sitting in the far corner - Regulus Black. His head had fallen into his hands, his fingers knotted tightly through his black locks; his bare shoulders were hunched and heaving in time with his sobs; he was shirtless, shivering from the unforgiving cold of the change rooms, though he seemed not to care or take any notice of the goose bumps all over his skin. He reached across with his left arm, pulling a Slytherin themed towel onto his lap. Louisa almost choked; a very distinctive image was tattooed onto his forearm, its menacing design seemingly wriggling and almost glowing. It was the Dark Mark, only given to the most dedicated followers of the most dangerous and prevalent dark wizard of the modern age. Louisa's mind flashed to the first quidditch match of the year where it had appeared terrifyingly in the sky above the pitch and how in that moment it had been Regulus who everyone moved to blame. She knew him to be an arrogant and vicious bully and considered his behaviour to be utterly unforgivable, but this was a rare glimpse into the life of a boy, who for all but a moment, Louisa could not despise.

"What are you doing…" Will investigated, appearing next to Louisa.

Regulus ceased his tears, looking up in horror at having been caught in a moment of weakness. Will froze, staring at his former best friend. Louisa instinctively placed a hand on Will's arm – an action of support and a wordless warning to Regulus.

Regardless of how much had changed, Louisa knew that Will still felt a genuine care for this boy, and no matter how many times he was bullied, there was an uncrushable hope within that perhaps one day they could be friends again. Louisa doubted that Regulus felt the same way.

"Get out," Regulus spat, pulling his things together.

Will took a step towards him, trying to draw courage.

"Will…" Louisa uttered, but he ignored her.

"You never wanted this," Will said, "I-I'm sorry it's happened."

Regulus flung an arm out, pushing his former friend back. He turned away wordlessly, pulling on a jumper and jamming his feet into his boots.

"It's not too late…"

"Shut up!" Regulus shouted, pulling his wand from his bag. He turned on Will and without a second breath snapped, "Flipendo!"

Will flew backwards, falling into the wall next to Louisa.

"Expelliarmus," she cried, disarming Regulus. She crouched down next to Will – he was conscious but utterly stunned by what he had just experienced. Louisa turned an icy glare to Regulus who was hurriedly trying to leave. She stood, blocking his path.

"Move or you'll be next," he warned.

Louisa stood her ground. "Don't you dare threaten me," she said, "and don't you _ever_ touch my friend again. You don't understand what he's been through. I know exactly the kind of arrogant bully you make yourself out to be and-."

"-don't talk to me about hardship," he interrupted, "and you will never know what it's like to be _me_."

He pushed past her and stormed away down the hall. Louisa watched after him, jaw set and hands clenched furiously. When he disappeared up into the grounds, she turned her attention back to Will. She offered a hand, which he took hopelessly, barely getting himself up off the ground. He couldn't make eye contact with Louisa and his cheeks were violently red.

"Are you alright?" she asked, hugging him. His head rested despairingly on her shoulder, his arms hung heavily by his side.

"I can't do this anymore," he mumbled, "I'm done."

"You haven't done anything," she said, "It's him."

Will sighed, pulling away. He finally met her eyes; where hers were full of fire and hidden depths, his were vacant and glassy.

"I love him, Lou," he admitted, "and it's ruining me. It's been four years of letting him make me feel like utter rubbish because I _love_ him."

Will reached for Valeria's fallen bat. He handed it over to Louisa and shrugged.

"Enough," he said, "I've had enough."

He exited the change room, his footsteps echoing along the hallway and up the staircase, growing fainter but with more purpose.

Louisa was left standing, Valeria's bat in hand, staring into empty space. She had always suspected Will's feelings for Regulus, but the sadness and resignation with which he admitted them was heartbreaking. There was nothing, magical or otherwise, that she would ever be able to do for her friend to ease his suffering.

….

Back on the pitch, Valeria hovered on her broom, anxiously looking back as Louisa approached. She reached out for her bat and Louisa tossed it over.

"Took you long enough," she complained, giving it a warm up swing.

"You know, Val," she said, the agitation evident in her voice, "there are more important things in life than quidditch."

"You won't be saying that when you have club seats courtesy of me," she called out, flying away to start the game.

Louisa rolled her eyes, turning to the stands. Sirius had now joined Remus, though neither was particularly focused on the imminent match. Remus had his head buried in what appeared to be a riveting book, while Sirius poured over several sheets of parchment. As she approached, Louisa noted that in the short time she had come to know him, she had seldom seen Sirius look so contemplative.

Both boys looked up as she arrived, Sirius disarming her with an incredibly warm smile. This was a new one – there was something much more serious and intent about the way his lips curved and his eyes focused.

"The captain happy?" Remus enquired.

"Ungrateful, but happy," Louisa assured.

In that moment she could have easily revealed the altercation with Regulus minutes before; she could have cursed his atrocious behaviour and pondered over his lonely distress, but what could either of these boys say to such a thing? Remus would be sympathetic and well-measured, but she would likely end up in an argument with Sirius over family relations as she had over a month ago when he distinctly told her not to mention his brother to him in any capacity. She took a deep breath, allowing the tension to leave her body.

"You've finally come out of hiding," she observed to Sirius who patted the seat next to him. She accepted his invitation, aware that their shoulders were touching but secretly glad neither of them was shifting away.

"Legs' wrath has eased considerably," he said, "I had to take my chances."

"Legs?"

"Well," he laughed, "they were exceptional..."

Louisa groaned. "I hope they were long enough to boot you up the arse."

The pair continued their light-hearted banter with Remus watching on curiously while pretending to read his book. The parchment Sirius had been reading through slipped from his lap, fluttering to the ground. He scooped it up quickly, brushing off any specks of dirt and ice.

"What are you reading?" Louisa asked, peering into his lap.

"Ah," Sirius started, fiddling with the corner of the first page, "the last will and testament of Alphard Black."

Louisa furrowed her brow, meeting his eyes.

"My uncle," he clarified.

"I'm sorry," she said, "were you close?"

Sirius chuckled. "I was closer to him than to anyone else in my family, I suppose, but then that isn't saying much."

"When...when did he die?"

He ran a hand through his hair, smoothing out the kinks. "Uh, some time ago actually, but I think my mother was making tireless attempts to veto the one giant decision he made in his will."

"Which was?"

Sirius held Louisa's gaze for a long moment. He sighed, "Leaving everything to me."

Louisa raised her eyebrows. For someone who had just received very positive news, he seemed particularly troubled.

"That's incredible," she responded, "Are you not happy about it?"

"Oh, I am," he insisted, folding the parchment up, "...just stunned."

"He wasn't a hoarder of Cornish Pixies, was he?" she joked, "I can understand why that might be too much to handle."

Sirius smiled with that same seriousness and warmth he had when she first sat down. He relaxed his legs a little, letting his thigh lean into hers.

"It's the first time I've had someone from my family looking out for me," he admitted, "It's a new feeling."

Louisa was taken aback by his sincerity. She thought back to Regulus' sobbing figure in the change room, in many ways a victim of his family too. How could a family fail its children so terribly? Without thinking, Louisa placed her hand on Sirius' and squeezed. He looked down at their hands, lacing his fingers through hers. She tensed a little.

"Oi!" James called, flying up to them in the stands. "Wilburn's taken a dive. Can someone fill in?"

Louisa pulled her hand away, heart racing. Sirius was grinning from ear to ear.

"Moony?" he offered, "How 'bout it?"

Remus looked hesitant. Sirius nodded, looking back to Louisa.

"Lou?"

"Val would never forgive me," she reasoned, "Besides, I'm a 'two feet on the ground at all times' kind of person."

Sirius stood, stretching. "Maybe you just need someone to sweep you off your feet?"

"And you're the one to do it?"

James tossed a spare broomstick to Sirius who caught it swiftly.

"I didn't say that," he said.

"Yes, you did," she replied.

"I said _someone_ and you suggested _me._ "

"Wishful thinking, Sirius."

He smiled, giving her a very long, unabashed look.

"I love you, Louisa Bright."

"What did you say?"

"You heard me."

He grinned, flying away to join the game. Louisa stared after him, mouth gaping, fists clenched at her side. There were many things she could have said in that moment; in fact, a truthful response would have been 'I love you too'. Despite his honesty, however, there was an arrogance she could not forgive. Instead, she mustered the only words she was capable of.

"You bastard!"


End file.
